Colin Powell's Endorsement of Obama

Colin Powell’s Endorsement of Obama

The endorsement of Barack Obama by Colin Powell, retired General, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George I during the First Persian Gulf War, and Secretary of State during W’s first term of office, is very, very significant.

Powell speaks for a very large sector of the military and diplomatic leadership of US imperialism. Bush and his cronies have fired, forced out of office, and reassigned to nowhere the top echelons of generals, colonels and career diplomats of the post-Viet Nam era. Promoting syncophants in their places, and treating them in the same manner when they have not achieved the impossible (like winning in Iraq and Afghanistan.), Bush and friends have won the enduring enmity of the officer corps, and much of the diplomatic and spy corps. In the process they have gone a long way towards destroying the morale of the military, and to a real, but lesser, extent the diplomatic and spy corps.

Maverick McCain’s candidacy was supposed to heal the rift between the Republican Party and the military. Obviously, it has not.

Powell’s endorsement, cautious as it was in words, (either man would make a good president) has ended all talk about Obama not having the experience needed to lead imperialism. And it almost certainly has deepened the desperation of the McCain campaign.

The next two weeks should show us just how desperate they have become.

While stealing this election will be much more difficult than previous elections, especially since the Democrats seem to have mobilized a major effort to stop the theft of the election including an unprecedented mobilization of volunteers of all types – from hackers to lawyers, many Republican state officials will be under strong pressure to pull out all the stops to steal the election.

But how many of them will? What is happening to the morale within the Republican Party? How many Republicans are working over time to cover up their own tracks? None of them want to be the next Senator Ted Stevens, but certainly many of them could easily be the next to fall. Will they be sticking their necks out for a candidate who looks and acts a lot more like Mr. McGoo than Bart Maverick?

And, Sarah Palin’s witchhunting, mobilization of racism, and character assassination will escalate. No doubt to no effect in terms of changing the electoral equation, but potentially endangering the lives of Barack Obama, his family, and of all people of color during the election period.

More later, Anthony

Articles about the Bush Administration’s deconstruction of the military and diplomatic hierarchy

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/28817/nick_turse_casualties_of_the_bush_administration

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12313869/

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/04/13/the-chorus-grows-another-general-calls-for-rumsfelds-resignation/

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Bush_replaces_top_general_in_Middle_0104.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/02/general-ricardo-sanchezs_n_104664.html