I don’t know whether he would want me telling you this, but a very close relative of mine — very close — who is a conservative Republican once served closely in the Army with Ret. General Colin Powell. I wonder how this close relative feels about today’s announcement by Powell that he’s voting for Sen. Barack Obama? Will Powell’s support help Obama overcome the almost given tradition that military people are conservative supporters of Republican presidential candidates?
What a fascinating presidential campaign this has been! And, of course, it’s really not over yet.
But Powell’s support for Obama can’t be good news for Sen. John McCain, can it?
I did not get to see Powell’s appearance today on “Meet the Press,” so I’m basing my understanding of all this on newspaper website reports. (I urge you to click on the link in that last phrase and read one of those reports for yourself.)
Powell’s endorsement was pretty much a ringing, positive statement: “He has both style and substance … Obama has displayed a steadiness; showed intellectual vigor. He has a definitive way of doing business that will do us well.” In addition to the endorsement, Powell had some pretty frank things to say about McCain’s campaign. For anyone not interested or able to read the entire Internet report I referenced above, I quote these two paragraphs from that report by “The International Herald Tribune”:
“Powell also questioned McCain’s decision to choose Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as the party’s vice presidential candidate. Powell said he did not believe Palin was ready to become president.
“In the appearance on “Meet the Press,” Powell also said he was disappointed by the McCain campaign’s decision to seek to tie Obama to William Ayers, who four decades ago was a domestic terrorist who violently protested the Vietnam War.”
Yes, a very interesting presidential campaign so far, and a very impressive Obama endorsement from a very impressive statesman!