Colin Powell's Endorsement of Barack Obama Will Live… in Infamy

For more than a year after Barack Obama became president, there was no word from Colin Powell about a man he described as having “great insight into the challenges we’re facing of a military and political and economic nature.” Today, Powell broke his silence. Did he have the courage to admit his mistake, his blunder, his betrayal?

No. Speaking on Face the Nation, Powell said he did not regret endorsing Obama, though the former Republican appointee could not bring himself to say much of anything positive about him. He claimed, absurdly, that the nation is more financially secure since The One took office and that “slowly but surely we are starting to see the kind of improvements the American people wanted and voted for him for.” Lackadaisical leadership, cronyism and corruption, massive unemployment, soaring deficits, weakness overseas – does General Powell really believe that these are the changes the American people wanted?

Let’s compare Powell’s analytical skills now with his purported sagacity during the campaign. Just weeks before the 2008 presidential election, he went on television to attack John McCain and the Republican Party. He then, in his wisdom, endorsed Barack Obama:

“I watched Mr. Obama during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well.

Mr. Obama has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He’s crossing lines–ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He’s thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values.

I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities – and we have to take that into account – as well as his substance – he has both style and substance – he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world — onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I’ll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.

And I have watched him over the last two years as he has educated himself, as he has become very familiar with these issues. He speaks authoritatively. He speaks with great insight into the challenges we’re facing of a military and political and economic nature. And he is surrounding himself, I’m confident, with people who’ll be able to give him the expertise that he, at the moment, does not have. And so I have watched an individual who has intellectual vigor and who dives deeply into issues and approaches issues with a very, very steady hand. And so I’m confident that he will be ready to take on these challenges on January 21st.”

Can you honestly say you are still confident, General Powell? If not, the nation deserves an apology from you. General Powell, Douglas MacArthur’s words from 1962 speak to you today: “the very obsession of your public service must be Duty, Honor, Country.”