Powell

I did not select McCain as GOP nominee.
I did not like the Bushes, and I liked McCain less than the Bushes.
He is certainly telling the truth about being a Maverick.
I never wanted any Maverick.

In furtherance of the filosofy of Barry Goldwater,
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison,
I prefer Ron Paul or Bob Barr, a friend of mine.

I will vote for McCain as a vote against left-wing extremist Obama.





David

This is an important endorsement for Obama.

While I am sure that many will dismiss it as nothing more than him endorsing a black candidate, I don't think Powell is someone who would endorse a candidate who he thought wasn't capable of being Commander-in-Chief, just because he wants to see a black President.

Of course this doesn't mean that he is right or that his judgment may not be clouded, but I'm certain he believes that Obama is up to the international crisis that Joe Biden predicts will arise within 6 months of his election.

I haven't been too worried about Obama in terms of foreign policy and national security though.

Even if he were inclined to, and I don't think he is, the American people will not tolerate a president who is soft on our national security.

The idea of sitting across the table with the leaders of rogue states, but without preconditions, is a ridiculous one, and he knows it. It will not happen.

He may send a large scale military operation into Pakistan if he gets actionable intelligence on the whereabouts of Bin Laden, if only to assure us of his testosterone level. That will be fine with me, but I'm not so sure how his followers will feel.

He can't be any less prepared for the foreign policy aspects of the role than most prior presidents were when they took office. If he has sound judgment and good advisors, he should keep his mistakes to a minimum. Of course it only takes one mistake to create a very big mess.

I don't perceive that he actually has any sort of foreign policy agenda. Obviously I could be wrong, but he's not offered any real specifics other than trying to get people around the world to like us more than they do now.

He does, however, have a domestic agenda, and it is for that agenda that I will not be voting for him.

Powell's endorsement should reassure those who are on the fence from the standpoint of foreign policy and national security, but I don't see how it is likely to make any difference at all for those who are skeptical about his domestic policy agenda.

All in all a fairly big political plus for Obama; much greater than it would have been for McCain is Powell had endorsed him.

Thanks for your graciousness in saying so, Finn. I have concerns about one or two of Senator Obama's domestic initiatives as well, but I don't think the Bush Administration has yet totally destroyed the balance of power our government operates under. Further, I believe that the Senator will be true to his word to consider all views in his due dilligence and will make some adjustments before implementation.

I agree with your assessment of Powell.

If the balance of power was every in jeopardy (and I don't believe it was) Bush could never have destroyed it alone. He would have needed the willing cooperation of the Congress and Judiciary.

If Obama wins, there is virtually no chance that he will govern with a Republican majority in either the House or Senate, and there is a fair chance that there will be a filibuster proof Democratic majority in the Senate.

Fortunately, it seems unlikely that he will have an opportunity to create an unassailable liberal bloc in the Supreme Court. Roberts, Alito and Thomas are relatively young men, and Scalia and Kennedy seem to be in good heath.

Whatever Obama's domestic agenda may be, I would not expect Congress to apply the brakes. Quite the contrary.

Frankly if you think Obama will not be any less partisan in his leadership than Bush was when the Republicans controlled Congress, you are fooling yourself.

The proof in the pudding of his assertions will not be whether or not he says he has duly considered all views, but whether or not there are occasions when he allows himself to be persuaded by views not in sync with the Democratic Party line.

Unless of course you (or, more importantly, he) believes that the Democratic Party Line is 100% correct, in which case consideration of opposing viewpoints will be simply part of a charade.