We were discussing yesterday whether having the guy who lied to the UN to justify our illegal war in Iraq endorse Obama is a good thing or not. I wrote this.
One more thought on Powell.
I’m outtamyarse guessing that whether or not he endorses on Sunday, he will say something about the violence being stoked by McPalin.
It’s another moment–even more important one, IMO–like the UM affirmative action cases before SCOTUS, when he came out strongly for affirmative action. And this kind of racially-tinged violence would offend his sense of both decency–and what is necessary for a healthy country (you could even argue it hurts the troops when this kind of racism is stoked).
I even wonder (really outtmyarse) whether Powell was the one who got McCain to correct the woman who called Obama an Arab terrorist. Powell is one of the few people who could get McCain to do what he wants right now, bc McCain still wants to forestall an Obama endorsement. And McCain’s failure to call off the she-dog might well be enough to tip Powell.
Apparently, my outta-arse is working better on politics these days than it is on football–at least for the first part of my guess (h/t karpaty lviv).
Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is widely expected Sunday to denounce the personal attacks against Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
[snip]
The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday that Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Powell’s former chief of staff, said his ex-boss was "upset" by the "vitriol, bile and prejudice" aimed at Obama on the campaign trail.
"We’ve talked about this and I know it really bothers him and I’d expect him to talk about it," he said.
Say what you will about Powell, but unlike (say) Clarence Thomas, Powell has always done the right thing on race in this country. And the right thing, right now, is to shut down the ugly, violent racism driving the McCain campaign.
If Powell is successful at shaming McCain into calling off his dogs, it will be a very important thing–not only for getting Obama elected, but also for governing this country going forward.