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CNN's Hugh Riminton catches up to Colin Powell in Hong Kong to get his reaction to Barack Obama's win yesterday. Powell is obviously very choked up at the thought of us having our first African American President.
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Above all else, Chris Matthews loves the game of politics. As show after show prove, he makes no value judgments, applies no moral compass. Playing the game well is admirable, even if your character is not. But every once in a while, reality creeps into the discussion and Matthews reacts to the net result of treating life as a game of partisan one-upsmanship. Such as it was on Monday, as Matthews spoke to conservative talk show host Michael Smerconish -- who rather surprisingly endorsed Obama last week -- about Rush Limbaugh's racist reaction to Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama.
I don't know how you get into this tribalist talk. We could make all kinds of assumptions, but we have no knowledge of a person's inner beliefs. ... You know what drives me crazy? When somebody says 'well, I know you're Catholic, so you must believe this.' Or 'I know you're Jewish, you must believe this.' Or 'I know you're black, you must believe this.' Give us all a break, Rush. Let us think. Let us think. Let us decide.
I'd like to think that he is waking up to the nastiness of the right but sadly, as my buddies at MM's Country Fair point out, Chris Matthews has a history of "tribalist talk" himself.
Rush Limbaugh, somewhat predictably, isn't backing down from his claim that Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama was a product of their both being black men -- that is, that it was about race, not policy;
"I thought it should be about race," he said. "I thought you liberals thought this was a historic candidacy because finally we are going to elect a black guy…why hide behind this, why act like it's not about race?"
"This was all about Powell and race, nothing about the nation and its welfare," Limbaugh added.
Limbaugh simply doesn't get it. Obama's candidacy is historic, yes -- but what has made it possible all along is that his campaign has been about transcending race, not wallowing in it.
Obama has carefully eschewed identity politics throughout this campaign. Meanwhile, the Republican campaign has been about nothing but. And it has its most transparent mouthpiece in Limbaugh.
Limbaugh is the guy at the sports bar who carefully tabulates the racial composition of every team on the screen and roots accordingly. If a team has a black quarterback, he predicts they're going to lose. Heaven forfend that any black player demonstrate too much enthusiasm over a touchdown or a dunk or a home run, or that any black linebacker should level a white quarterback, because then the "thug" and "jungle" references come out. He hates Tiger Woods with an inexplicable venom (mostly because he's too uppity "full of himself").
We all know that guy. (Some of them are in our families.) And anyone who's even moderately serious about sports, and moderately knowledgeable about them, knows that that guy is completely and hopelessly full of shit.
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"Affirmative Action At The Highest Level Unqualified Applicants Get Jobs Due Solely To Their Race
Buchanan: Alright, we gotta ask a question, look would Colin Powell be endorsing Obama if he were a white liberal democrat...Joan Walsh tells Pat that his assessment was "beneath him" and Matthews calls him out on it also. Wow, can you image that Colin Powell might consider the Supreme Court and economic policies before he makes a decision on who to vote for? Why would black people care about those issues right, Pat? He, like John McCain makes no sense at all. I remember hearing so many conservative and liberal women being upset when they felt others thought they should have thrown their support to Hillary just because she was a woman. This talk will only pick up as the week unfolds.
Walsh: Oh, Pat, I'm really sorry you went there.
Look, General Powell Started off by saying it would be electrifying an African American and it is naive Joan to suggest it had nothing to do with his decision.
Matthews: He said that if that were his driving motive he would have done it weeks ago because the guy looked African America weeks and months ago.
Walsh: And Obama's been courting him. He's been courting him for months.
Buchanan: This is why he threw in the whole kitchen sink. A lot fo things are silly and ridiculous. Economics and Supreme courts justices, it's...
Walsh; That's not silly...
Buchanan: All the motives except for the one everybody is wondering about.
Walsh: Which is what? Race, I mean Pat, you know Pat. this is beneath you.
Matthews: Why don't you go by what he said? Why do you have to attribute motives to people who don't say those things?
Walsh: And Sheila Jackson Lee stayed with Hillary and Stephanie stayed...
(h/t FDL)
You knew it was coming. To the conservatives that populate pollute the airwaves, Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama could only be because he is black:
STEPHANOPOULOS: We just found out that former Secretary of State General Colin Powell has said he's going to vote for Barack Obama. Big impact?
WILL: Some impact. And I think this adds to my calculation -- this is very hard to measure -- but it seems to me if we had the tools to measure we'd find that Barack Obama gets two votes because he's black for every one he loses because he's black because so much of this country is so eager, a) to feel good about itself by doing this, but more than that to put paid to the whole Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson game of political rhetoric.
First, I'm not even sure what "put paid to the whole Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson game of political rhetoric" means. And what do either of them have to do with Powell's endorsement?
Is Will trying to suggest that Powell has some variation of "white man's guilt" and is seeking to mollify it by endorsing Obama? Clearly, Will does think that the endorsement is more based on skin color than anything else, a projection that I find more illustrative of the simple-minded Republican groupthink support than anything else. It shows just how insulated and isolated the GOP is from the real world, where people look at more than just how much someone looks like you and considers larger issues.
Just as predictably, Rush Limbaugh chimes in as well:
Rush Limbaugh said Colin Powell's decision to get behind Barack Obama appeared to be very much tied to Obama's status as the first African-American with a chance to become president.
"Secretary Powell says his endorsement is not about race," Limbaugh
wrote in an email. "OK, fine. I am now researching his past endorsements to see if I can find all the inexperienced, very liberal, white candidates he has endorsed. I'll let you know what I come up with."
Um...hey Rush, how about George W. Bush in 2000? Maybe he wasn't "very liberal" (although he certainly portrayed himself as more centrist than he is in actuality), but he was definitely considered inexperienced on the national scene and you don't get much whiter than the Bush clan. Rush continues:
"I guess he also regrets Reagan and Bush making him a four-star [General] and Secretary of State and appointing his son to head the FCC. Yes, let's hear it for transformational figures."
Really, you want to go diving into that "how ungrateful that black man is for all the white men have done for him" abyss? It's frightening to me how these conservatives don't to even try to hide their white hoods any more. Rush, I know that conservatives value ignorance, but you have to know that becoming a four-star General is not a political appointment. Powell earned that rank, and to suggest otherwise now because he doesn't agree with your water-carrying is just more of the Republicans' sick tactic of smearing the messenger.
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Former Secretary of State Colin Powell appeared on Meet The Press today and as expected, he endorsed Democrat Barack Obama. Powell didn't just endorse Obama, he scolded John McCain for his scurrilous campaign tactics and his purely political choice of the highly unqualified Sarah Palin as his running mate.
“I don’t believe [Palin] is ready to be president of the United States,” Powell said flatly. By contrast, Obama’s running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, “is ready to be president on day one.”
As with other Republicans this campaign season, Powell voiced great concern about the far right turn the Republican Party has taken which is leading to it's demise.
“I truly believe that at this point in America’s history we need a president who will not just continue ... basically the policies we have followed in recent years,” “We need a president with transformational qualities.” For that reason, he said, “I will be voting for Barack Obama.” Read on...
Powell's endorsement will have little effect on Democrats, but he is an icon of the Republican Party -- which is where the true impact of this endorsement lies.
"No More Kings" from Schoolhouse Rock
It's stunning to me that 30 years later, I can still recite the Preamble and describe the process in which a bill becomes a law thanks to Schoolhouse Rock. All those songs are lodged deep in the recesses of my brain. And it occurred to me this week that there are many in positions of power in this country who need some refresher courses in history, government and all the rights we fought hard to have here. But given the anti-intellectualism of the new McCarthyites like Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin and John McCain, perhaps it would be best to ease them into it with some Schoolhouse Rock.
The big story this week is whether Colin Powell, appearing on Meet the Press, will endorse Barack Obama. And if he does, will the McCain campaign dismiss him as being too...partisan?
ABC's "This Week" - Newt Gingrich, former GOP speaker of the House.
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Virginia Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.; Missouri Republican Gov. Matt Blunt; former Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
CNN's "Late Edition" - Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., House minority whip; former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani; Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala.; Ed Lazear, chairman, White House Council on Economic Advisers.
"Fox News Sunday" - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
"The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Mark Whitaker, Katty Kay, Kathleen Parker, Andrew Sullivan. Topics: Can McCain rescue his campaign as the economy sinks? Who benefits as McCain and Obama question each other's character?
So what's catching your eye this morning?
On CNN Sunday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell offered some "straight-talk" on the Georgia/Russia conflict, and not-so-subtly insinuated that McCain's rather belligerent response was careless and unnecessarily provocative.
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POWELL: And I think it was foolhardy on the part of President Saakashvili and the Georgian government to kick over this can, to light a match in a roomful of gas fumes.
SESNO: So you're saying the Georgians provoked this?
POWELL: They did. I mean, there was a lot of reasons to have provocations in the area, but the match that started the conflagration was from the Georgian side.
AMANPOUR: And yet...
POWELL: And that's a given.
AMANPOUR: And some debate in the presidential elections has basically been, "We are all Georgians now." What does that mean? It's the same as was said after 9/11.
POWELL: One candidate said that, and I'll let the candidate explain it for himself. [...] You have to be very careful in a situation like this not just to leap to one side or the other until you've taken a good analysis of the whole situation.
If I were a betting man, I would wager that Powell will throw his support behind Obama. Powell is rightfully criticized for pushing the administration's bogus case for war with Iraq, but there's no denying he is a respected voice of foreign affairs. The message an Obama endorsement would send would be a huge blow to McCain.
C&L covered this segment from last Friday's Countdown, but I thought an emphasis on Richard Clarke's scathing remarks about the lack of, and the need for, accountability from the Bush administration for the countless lies they told their country and the world about pre-Iraq invasion intelligence, was well deserved.
I have been telling anyone who will listen, that we must watch out for these bad pennies when their names start to creep back into the political arena - names like Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, who both worked in the Nixon administration. Looking back, we find ourselves wondering how we didn't see this disaster coming, or why more people didn't speak out at the time. I fully agree with Richard Clarke's statements; we must not allow these thugs back into civilized society -- they should not be rewarded for perpetrating so many horrific and destructive crimes against their own people, and other places around the globe.
Clarke: "Well, there may be some other kind of remedy. There may be some sort of truth and reconciliation commission process that's been tried in other countries, South Africa, Salvador and what not, where if you come forward and admit that you were in error or admit that you lied, admit that you did something, then you're forgiven. Otherwise, you are censured in some way."
"Now, I just don't think we can let these people back into polite society and give them jobs on university boards and corporate boards and just let them pretend that nothing ever happened when there are 4,000 Americans dead and 25,000 Americans grievously wounded, and they'll carry those wounds and suffer all the rest of their lives."
You can rest assured, the day that names like Karl Rove, Tom Delay, Condoleeza Rice or those of anyone who served in the Bush administration creep into the public or political sphere, we, and the rest of the blogosphere, will sound the alarm to make sure none of these people are able to damage our country ever again. More from Think Progress.
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On Race to the White House with David Gregory, the punditocracy was all aflutter at Colin Powell's interview with ABC's Good Morning America in which he refrained from endorsing any candidate but made some positive statements about Barack Obama. So naturally, the media decides that the topic should be whether Powell will endorse Obama. Even though he's said he hasn't decided on any one candidate. The Weekly Standard's Matthew Continetti opines:
Continetti: It’s possible that Powell will endorse Obama, although I think it’s more likely that he’ll refuse to endorse any candidate. And one reason is that he obviously knows John McCain well and they’ve come together on the torture issue, if you recall. They’re both opponents of aggressive interrogation techniques. So I think it’s more likely that Powell just sits this one out and perhaps awaits for maybe a position in the next Democratic administration.
Gregory: Do you think he’d be willing to serve?
Continetti: I think so. I think if called under the right circumstances…certainly, from someone like Obama who of course represents a huge milestone historically, but also wants to show he can reach out to Republicans in some fashion, even if they’re disgruntled Republicans, like Gen. Powell.
So Powell and McCain have bonded over their mutual stance against torture? Funny, that. None of the talking heads seem particularly concerned that neither Powell nor McCain actually did anything to stop torture when they had the opportunity.
And while this notion that Powell is a "disgruntled" Republican may well be true (I know a lot of Republicans that are disgusted by what the neo-cons have done to their party), where does Continetti get this whole 'waiting for the next Democratic administration' trial balloon? Why should any man who held up cartoon pictures of mobile WMD labs in front of the UN ever have credibility in any administration?
Will Bunch thinks that Obama should reject and denounce Powell's endorsement, should it be offered.
Via Rolling Stone:
It's a cold, gray day in December, and I'm walking down Sixtieth Street in the Dora district of Baghdad, one of the most violent and fearsome of the city's no-go zones. Devastated by five years of clashes between American forces, Shiite militias, Sunni resistance groups and Al Qaeda, much of Dora is now a ghost town. This is what "victory" looks like in a once upscale neighborhood of Iraq: Lakes of mud and sewage fill the streets. Mountains of trash stagnate in the pungent liquid. Most of the windows in the sand-colored homes are broken, and the wind blows through them, whistling eerily. House after house is deserted, bullet holes pockmarking their walls, their doors open and unguarded, many emptied of furniture. What few furnishings remain are covered by a thick layer of the fine dust that invades every space in Iraq. Looming over the homes are twelve-foot-high security walls built by the Americans to separate warring factions and confine people to their own neighborhood. Emptied and destroyed by civil war, walled off by President Bush's much-heralded "surge," Dora feels more like a desolate, post-apocalyptic maze of concrete tunnels than a living, inhabited neighborhood. Apart from our footsteps, there is complete silence. Read on...
This article by Nir Rosen is a long read, but it's well worth it. Rosen describes in detail how the situation on the ground in Iraq is tenuous at best, a powder keg ready to ignite at any given moment. We haven't been getting much honest or detailed reporting from Iraq in quite some time and this article unveils much of what many of us have assumed for some time. The successes of the surge amount to trapping people in run down neighborhoods turned to rubble, imprisoning thousands and creating millions of refugees. Freedom is on the march...
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Just like the rest of the Republican talking heads, former Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell isn't willing to stand up behind John McCain just yet. Ever the dutiful soldier, he plays coy with his endorsement, a factoid from which the MSM is all ablaze.
Honestly, I don't know why there's such a fuss. Obviously, the Republican slate leaves much to be desired, especially if you acknowledge how much ground has been lost during the Bush years. And THAT is the story that the MSM ignores. Listen how Colin Powell (albeit in a very removed, third person kind of way that doesn't acknowledge the role he played) says how bad things are now, how we've lost our standing globally, how we've been dealing with incompetent leadership that doesn't doesn't reflect America's goodness or vision:
BLITZER: Who’s your candidate for President of the United States?
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POWELL: I am watching this race with the greatest of interest and I know all of the leading candidates now. I don’t know Mr. Huckabee as well I know Mr. McCain and senator Obama and uh and Sen. Clinton. But I’m watching this and I will ultimately vote for the person I believe brings to the American people the kind of vision the American people want to see for the next four years. 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. I’m going to be looking for the candidate that seems to me to be leading a party that is fully in sync with the candidate and the party will also reflect America’s goodness and America’s vision. And I’ll be looking for the candidate that I think will be the most competent candidate. The one who can deal with problems and bring the government together with the Congress to solve these problems. And so I know them all. I’m a Republican but I’m keeping my options open at the moment, and I’m in touch with the candidates. And anybody wants to talk to me about an issue, I’ll do so. But sooner or later, as any other American, I will make my choice.
I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound like McCain would be his candidate, does it?
Vastleft at Corrente:
On February 5, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations to rally support for an invasion of Iraq.
His presentation contained little substance and numerous obvious flaws, and the international community was unimpressed.
America’s mainstream media, however, declared it “compelling.”
For a nation living in the ghostly shadow of the twin towers, the media’s Good Warmaking seal of approval was enough to keep that treasonous question — “why?” — relatively unheard.
The costs — in lives, money, reputation, and more — of this war of whim are nearly incalculable.
This year’s fifth anniversary coincides with a Super Tuesday primary like no other. As Americans across the country go to the polls, a couple of hundred thousand American troops, contractors, and mercenaries are still stewing in America’s longest and most ill-conceived war.
Read more at dayofshame.com...
Today's vote on the Cornyn amendment is unconscionable. Warner stabs Webb in the back as the Republicans torpedo his amendment that supports the troops, but then Democrats cower and vote for this repulsive amendment. They took another step at destroying our freedom of speech.
Bush hid behind Gen. Petraeus' skirt as he did with Colin Powell. How quickly we and the media forget about his speech to the UN that brought us into this immoral war. He admitted it was the low point of his career. Here's the Barbara Walters interview from the wondrous C&L archives:
Powell: I will forever be known as the one who made the case for war.
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Dodd speaks out:
"It is a sad day in the Senate when we spend hours debating an ad while our young people are dying in Iraq. Now that the Senate has twice voted on this ad, it is time to move on and vote to end the war." - Chris Dodd
I have a very bad opinion of Colin Powell after his puppet role was revealed in the Iraq war, but I'll get to that later. This quote from his interview in GQ is very relevant to the political debate about terrorism, especially today of all days.
Q: Isn’t the new global threat we face even more dangerous?
Powell: What is the greatest threat facing us now? People will say it’s terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing?
I would approach this differently, in almost Marshall-like terms. What are the great opportunities out there—ones that we can take advantage of? It should not be just about creating alliances to deal with a guy in a cave in Pakistan. It should be about how do we create institutions that keep the world moving down a path of wealth creation, of increasing respect for human rights, creating democratic institutions, and increasing the efficiency and power of market economies? This is perhaps the most effective way to go after terrorists.
Many people have turned into scared little bedwetters after the 9/11 attacks who threw their civil rights to the wind while supporting a pre-emptive doctrine which will lead us down the road to hell. I talk about the right wing blogosphere and their talk show buddies of course. Being a NYer, the attacks stunned me, but NY picked itself off the floor and went on with life. These people see jihadists in their rear view mirror every time they get on the highway...
