This morning on NBC’s Meet the Press hosted by Tom Brokaw Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for president.
In case you have been living under a rock for the last 20 years, or perhaps are not from the U.S., Colin Powell was a general under George H. Bush and helped in the victory of the 1st Iraq war, and was Secretary of State under the first term of George W. Bush. Powell is a prominent member of the Republican party and to say that this endorsement comes as a surprise to many (including me) is an understatement.
Among his reasons for endorsing Barack Obama, Powell listed Obama’s intellectual prowess which he mentioned shortly after stating that Sarah Palin was not ready to be president.
This brings to mind “new atheist” Sam Harris’ article in Newsweek, which he called In Defense of Elitism. I don’t know if Harris’ article had any influence on his decision, but it seems to be that the sentiment of this article has been floating around.
On John Stewart’s The Daily Show Tim Robbins made an argument comparing the use of elite military units like the Navy Seals with having elite intellect in the White House. I think this may have been in Harris’ article verbatim.
Another reason Powell gave for endorsing Obama was that he did not want to see two more conservative judges on the Supreme Court.
Eddie Tabash, who is a C.F.I. operative and a legal expert has repeatedly made the case that this is the number one issue threatening separation of church and state in the United States. An interview with Eddie Tabash can be heard on the most recent episode of C.F.I.’s Point of Inquiry podcast.
Another reason that Powell gave for endorsing Obama is that he has strong disagreements with the use of linking Obama to Islam.
He said in his interview with Brokaw that he does not want Muslim-american children to think that they could not be president of the United States because of their religion.
While I tend to be more in the “militant atheist” camp on these kind of issues, I know that Powell’s appeal to freedom of religion, especially in such a pluralistic way will resound strongly with the majority of Edger’s readership.
I doubt that Powell is himself an atheist, but it would seem that he has much in common with the Secularist movement as far as his political concerns.
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Excellent post. I will need to read over this a few times before responding further, but I like what I see.
I was surprised and very pleased to hear Powell’s well-stated statement of support, it’s a promising sign.
I am really optimistic about this turn.
Even though Obama is winning anyways, I am still very worried about McCain winning, not so much because of McCain (though I have my problems with him) but because of Palin.
I think McCain is older than Reagan, and he developed Alzheimers in office.
At this point- and coming from me this is unusual- I think we can finally relax and laugh about Palin. Her approval rating has been shot to hell and last I heard Obama was ahead of McCain by something like 14 points. Unless that’s changed drastically since the last debate. Saturday Night Live has certainly been helpful, too. It’s kind of like the episode of Babylon Five where Penn and Teller guest-starred and made a point about comedy and politics being two sides of the same coin.
By the way, I can see New Jersey from my house. Hence, foreign policy experience up the whazoo.
I can see the moon from my house. Ergo, I’m an astronaut! Let’s invade Mars!