If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up a different person? Chuck Palahniuk
Four out of five Secretaries of State surveyed recommend John McCain to those who will vote.
That’s right. Henry Kissenger, James Baker, Lawrence Eagleburger and Alexander Haig have all endorsed John McCain.
Like the one dentist out of five who recommends sugary gum, Colin Powell has endorsed Barack Obama.
That’s the only Secretary of State endorsement the media wants to talk about, like it’s some “Republican on Republican crime.”
What the media is trying to pull here reminds me of a recurring incident while playing street stickball as a kid. In each game there would be a close play at the plate; the runner said he was safe, the catcher said he was out.
During the gentlemanly debate that followed, a player on the runner’s team might say, “He may have been out.” Upon hearing that, the catcher’s team would light up. The runner’s team would cringe as the catcher readied himself to scream the truth to which there is no reply: “That’s your own man saying so!”
So too the Press screams this to Republican McCain, as Republican Powell endorses the player from the other team.
The profound effect of “That’s your own man saying so” is immeasurable in stickball, but be leery of it in politics because who is on which team is not always so clear.
Which leads me to Colin Powell, who never fully committed to the Republican team, even while Republicans recognized Powell’s talents and made him National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of State.
After the first Gulf War when there was talk of Powell running for President, he was coy about which party he’d use to do it. His finger was in the political wind.
On liberal issues, Powell has been a fan of that weird civil right involving killing baby humans. He supports affirmative action, some gun controls and won’t support a constitutional ban on burning the flag in protest of America here on her soil. He now complains Republicans are “too far right.” Where are we supposed to be, Colin?
So was Powell really a teammate of Republicans (despite having given McCain the maximum campaign donation allowed by law)?
I’ll admit though there are Republican positions Powell has supported…
Like the Iraq invasion. Since 2003 those on the left have painted Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz and anyone else at the top as more horrid than those who attacked us on 9/11.
If your motto is “Bush lied, people died,” surely you recognize the voice of Powell. He appeared at the UN to sell the invasion based on WMDs to the UN and the world.
So where now is the rage of the left, who even tried to have Rumsfeld indicted as a war criminal in several European countries? Will the left forgive and forget what they once saw as Powell’s crimes against humanity in exchange for a mere endorsement? Oh that’s right, the left forgave Bill Ayers. Forgiving Powell should be a cinch.
What is really behind this endorsement is Powell looking for forgiveness and a hug from the left. This is what he said nearly a year ago about what he will look for in a candidate:
“A vision that reaches out to the rest of the world and starts to restore confidence in America. And starts to restore favorable ratings to America, frankly. We’ve lost a lot in recent years.”
If you agree (or care) that our standing in the world has been lessened by the Iraq invasion as Powell says, then it’s fair to say it’s Powell’s fault. Repair that and Powell gets to wake up tomorrow as a different person.
So Obama is Powell’s personal mea culpa to the left for the Iraq invasion, without regard to whether Obama will be good or bad for America here at home.
