Colin Powell Endorses Obama!
“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.”
Wingnut Warning! Character assassination of the good general to begin at any moment!
Labels: colin powell
Posted by Unknown @ 10/19/2008 09:55:00 AM
39 Comments:
The latest poll numbers show that the Dream Team of Joe Sixpack and Joe the Plumber lead the Obama and McCain tickets.
http://www.cracked.com/blog/announcing-the-candidacy-of-plumbersixpack/
You have to admit that if you asked people who the most respected Republicans in the country are, Powell would be at least in the top three.
As the perhaps the nation's most high-profile undecided, this endorsement is big. Some have charged that he waited to see who the winner would be and then make a safe endorsement. Nevertheless, it's big.
I wonder if he would want to return as Secretary of State?
Here are some of the first reactions.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14714.html
Obama smashed all records by raising $150 million in September alone. He leads McCain 2:1 in cash.
Obama was able to do what many campaign reformers hoped would be possible: he refused donations from lobbyists and sought contributions from Joe Sixpack. His average donation during September was $86.
I guess that makes Obama a real maverick.
He risked the campaign on a new strategy and McCain went old school.
Daily News endorses Obama.
Add that to the Times and La Opinion, and it's pretty much a clean sweep in Los Angeles.
"In a very real sense, this election has become about hope and despair."
"In this campaign, the Republicans have been on the side of despair, stirring up fear."
"We think it's time to turn away from McCain's hopeless rhetoric of impending, most-certain doom to the bright side. That's where Sen. Barack Obama is."
http://www.dailynews.com/editorial/ci_10756431
Joe B writes.......
"Wingnut Warning! Character assassination of the good general to begin at any moment!"
********************
The wingnuts known as Higby and Haikula will be here shortly posting YouTube videos of Coiln Powell picking his nose.
Higby and Haikula don't have the ability to discuss any real issues such as the cost of the war in Iraq or the lack of SEC regulations nearly causing a collapse of world economies.
So look for the wingnuts to tell us about Coiln Powell having lunch with terrorists or Arabs. The right wing nuts have nothing but fear and paranoia to sway Joe SixPack voters.
Hmmmmm, getting closer.
Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll: Obama 47.8%, McCain 45.1%
McCain slowly gains on Obama
UTICA, New York - Republican John McCain continued a slow advance on Democrat Barack Obama in the race for President, moving back within three percentage points as the race begins to head down the stretch run, the latest Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby daily tracking poll shows.
Data from this poll is available here
McCain now trails Obama by 2.7 points, down from the 3.9 point deficit he faced 24 hours earlier.
Seven-point-one percent of the likely voters surveyed said they remain undecided.
Obama lost five-tenths of a point from yesterday's report, while McCain gained another six-tenths of a point. It was the third consecutive day in which Obama's numbers slipped and McCain's numbers increased.
McCain has once again moved above 45% support overall, a mark he has not seen since the second day of daily tracking reports. Obama's slip under 48% support is the first time at that level in nearly a week. He now stands within one-tenth of a percent of where he stood when the Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby daily tracking began almost two weeks ago. McCain is within two-tenths of a percent of where he was when the tracking poll began.
During the 13 days of the tracking poll, Obama has led by as much as 6.2 points and as little as 1.9 points.
Except for a few hours of polling, this three-day rolling average of telephone polling now includes a sample taken entirely after the final presidential debate last Wednesday.
The tracking poll includes 1,211 likely voters across the country who were surveyed between Oct. 16-18, 2008, at the rate of about 400 per day. The survey, conducted using live telephone interviewers calling from Zogby's call center in Upstate New York, carries a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points.
No attacks needed.
Yes, and??? If you make your choice based on others' endorsements, it just means that you're not thinking for yourself.
Bravo to Obama for getting an important nod, but think for yourself.
Also, if you look a bit closer, you'll see that these "endorsements" are more of a vote against McCain/Palin than an explicit vote for Obama/Biden.
Think for yourself. Vote for Obama if that is what your heart tells you. But don't do it because someone else likes him.
Also, Joe, it seems like, in your call to not "attack" Powell, you are attacking those of us who might feel otherwise with your labels.
Especially those of us who aren't that impressed with either ticket.
This poll is getting traction.
By Andrew Quinn
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama's lead over Republican John McCain in the presidential race has dropped to 3 points, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Sunday.
Obama leads McCain by 48 to 45 percent among likely U.S. voters, down 1 percentage point from Saturday. The four-day tracking poll, which has a margin of error of 2.9 points.
Pollster John Zogby said the numbers were good news for McCain, and probably reflected a bump following his appearance in the third and final presidential debate on Wednesday.
"For the first time in the polling McCain is up above 45 percent. There is no question something has happened," Zogby said.
He said the Arizona senator appeared to have solidified his support with the Republican base -- where 9 out of 10 voters now back him -- and was also gaining ground among the independents who may play a decisive role in the November 4 election.
Obama's lead among independent voters dropped to 8 points on Sunday from 16 points a day earlier.
'RED FLAGS'(Not a Red Spotism)
"If that trend continues, it is something that has got to raise red flags for Obama," Zogby said. "It suggests to me that his outward look of confidence may be as much strategy as it is real."
Other national polls have given Obama a double-digit overall lead, fueled by perceptions he would do a better job managing the faltering economy and unhappiness with McCain's attacks on him over the past week.
But he has cautioned his supporters against overconfidence and most polls now put his lead in single digits.
Obama, 47, who would be the first black president, enjoys strong support among black, Hispanic, Catholic and Jewish voters while the 72-year-old McCain holds a narrower lead among male and white voters.
Women, who are expected to be an important factor in the election, still favor Obama by a 6-point margin, although this has been declining in recent days.
Independent Ralph Nader drew 2 percent support in the poll, conducted Saturday through Tuesday, while Libertarian Bob Barr registered 1 percent, both little changed.
The rolling tracking poll surveyed 1,210 likely voters in the presidential election. In a tracking poll, the most recent day's results are added while the oldest day's results are dropped in an effort to track changing momentum.
The U.S. president is determined not by the most votes nationally but by a majority of the Electoral College, which has 538 members allotted to all 50 states and the District of Columbia in proportion to their representation in Congress.
Here is a different take on why Obama and McCain are so “close”: The media wants a close race and Obama wants the perception of a close race.
Now, before you dismiss this slight-of-hand, think about this: Hillary Clinton lost the race in March. No one, and I mean no one can lose 11 straight primaries and still be considered a serious contender for the Presidency and yet there everybody was, after loss 11 saying they were “neck and neck”. The only way they were neck and neck is if Obama was on his knees and Hillary had a ladder. My guess is that the media wanted the fight, it makes for good TV. I do blame the media because there is no way that any reporter should have been describing that race as close (unless you have one which I am open to hear) and to a degree I think that is happening here.
We know there is a little reported racial subtext here. Some white people won’t ever vote for a black candidate, but those die-hards would never vote for a Democrat. By “little reported” I mean the media now plays up the racial aspect by dancing around the term, instead it is “blue collar working class Appalacian men.” Is it even possible to manufacture a lesser sub-demographic? The media creates a false problem for the Obama campaign by shining a light on a small demographic that is probably lost to the Democrats anyway – the proud redneck vote. Unfortunately, that subtext is being used to create a campaign of hate that should embarrass us all.
The fact is that this is a divided country and the Republicans have mastered the art of the culture war. That is playing out now in the polls, but remember Obama is ahead of where Gore and Kerry was, and significantly also. I mean seriously, according to the RCP averages, Obama has 286 Electoral votes locked up, or close to locked up and McCain finds himself defending North Dakota and Indiana – so in short, I am not sure this race is as close as it looks on national polls. In fact if you average all blue states and every single toss-up state (NV, ND, MO, IN, OH, WV, NC, and FL) Obama enjoys an average lead of 10.9. (11.9 if you throw in HI which has Obama ahead by 41 so I left that out of the equation) With 2 weeks to go does it seem likely that McCain has a prayer?
Of course not, but that doesn’t make for good TV.
By the way, Gallup daily tracking has Obama at 52 - 42... so much for a closing race, he is up 2.
Of course, national polls don't matter as much now as McCain seems to have given up on the popular vote and is now trying to eek out an electoral college victory.
For those who are playing at home - that puts Obama squarely in the lead by any measure.
Haikula,
Why in the world do you think I was referring to you? Me thinks thou is
too vain! I am referring to the wingnuts like Rush, etc.
"If that trend continues, it is something that has got to raise red flags for Obama," Zogby said. "It suggests to me that his outward look of confidence may be as much strategy as it is real."
This from the guy who just on Friday said "Barack Obama will be our next President" on Real Time?
Also, is Zogby really trying to say McCain "never got over 45"? He was at 48 after the convention.
Talk about making up a race that doesn't exist.
Despite the best efforts of ACORN and their allies in state government, we bring you this from Ohio.
From NBC's Mark Murray
A new round of NBC/Mason-Dixon polls shows Obama leading in the battleground state of Wisconsin, McCain ahead in West Virginia, and the two candidates essentially tied in the swing state of Ohio.
In Wisconsin -- a state the Democrats have won in the last two presidential elections -- Obama has a comfortable 12-point lead, 51%-39%.
Meanwhile, in West Virginia -- a state Republicans have won in the last two presidential elections, but the Obama campaign is now targeting -- McCain is up six points, 47%-41%.
And in Ohio -- the state that decided the last election -- McCain has a slim one-point edge over Obama, 46%-45%.
In each state, per the polls, the economy is overwhelmingly voters' top concern. And the candidate that's leading in each one is seen as better handling the issue. In Wisconsin, Obama bests McCain on the economy, 51%-38%; in West Virginia, it's McCain that's ahead, 44%-41%; and in Ohio they're tied, 45%-45%.
The polls were conducted in each battleground state of 625 likely voters from Oct. 16-17, and they have a margin of error of plus-minus 4%.
Red, methinks you miss the point.
Let's say McCain wins Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, West Virginia Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota AND Nevada This represents every state currently in the toss-up column - If McCain swept ALL of them, Obama still wins with 286 electoral votes.
By the way, some polling has Arizona closing now which is an entirely different thread.
McCain is defending Republican turf and if he swept all of it, would STILL need to pick off 16 electoral votes from a "blue" state.
....and we have this from the "great" Rush.
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 e-mail. "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."
As for Powell's statement of concern this morning about the sort of Supreme Court justices a President McCain might appoint, Limbaugh wrote: "I was also unaware of his dislike for John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and Antonin Scalia. 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."
Powell laid out his argument pretty good for endorsing Obama. Rush and others will try and marginalize him but the fact they care shows how scared they are.
Joe,
EXACTLY what did I write that makes you think that I thought you were referring to me.
You were clearly making a general statement, and I replied equally in general fashion.
You must be so taken any time I challenge any of your thoughts. All you've been able to do is challenge my grammar.
So, getting back to my GENERAL point, no one should cast a vote based on an endorsement. Think for yourself. People like Joe think that you're foolish enough to be swayed based on a poll or endorsement.
Goober.
No need to slam Powell. He has a right to his opinion. You have to lay this at the feet of George Bush and Dick Cheney who screwed Powell over.
More importantly Cheney and Bush screwed over the Republicans, which is why I never voted for them.
Powell's endorsement - much like those Democrats who have endorsed McCain to the opposite - does much to elevate Obama supporters and perhaps depress some McCain supporters.
That being said endorsements don't motivate people to vote, it will be the final issues, the campaigns ground operations and the turnout on election day.
We shall see.
Haifoola, last week we found your fighting with Joe B. to be so interesting that the entire blog dropped from 6th to, uh, what now? And now here you go again. Either pony up with some opinions that aren't all about you or just STFU.
Here is the list of "prominent" dems & indis that support McCain. This list was released by the McCain campaign.
PROMINENT DEMOCRATS AND INDEPENDENTS JOIN "CITIZENS FOR MCCAIN"
Former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson (Arizona)
Former Arizona State Legislator Phil Hubbard (Arizona)
Mammoth Mayor Craig Williams (Arizona)
Former Arizona LULAC Director Ray Gans (Arizona)
Democratic 25th Precinct Chair Silverio "Silver" Salazar (Colorado)
Adviser to Democratic Presidential Candidates and Georgetown University Professor Robert Lieber (District of Columbia)
Blogger on HillaryClinton.com Renee Slater (Florida)
Former Sheriff of Highlands County Howard Godwin (Florida)
Jewish Outreach Adviser to Senator Hillary Clinton Rabbi Cheryl Jacobs
Georgia Political Director for Gore-Lieberman '00 Joseph O'Farrell Jr. (Georgia)
Former Democratic Des Moines County Chair Bruce Shulte (Illinois)
Former State Representative Brian Golden (Massachusetts)
Commander of Newport Memorial-VFW Post 1119 Francis Harding, Jr. (Maine)
Former Palmyra Budget Committee Member Herb Bates (Maine)
Former Lt. Governor and State Supreme Court Justice Alexander "Sandy" Keith (Minnesota)
Former U.S Representative and 2002 Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tim Penny (Minnesota)
Former State Representative Steve Wenzel (Minnesota)
City Clerk Judi May (Mississippi)
County Supervisor Gary Dearman (Mississippi)
Alderman Bill Mosby (Mississippi)
Former State Representative Jim Gamache (Missouri)
Presiding Commissioner in New Madrid County, Clyde Hawes (Missouri)
Former Concord Mayor Bill Veroneau (New Hampshire)
Former Democratic Mayor of Waterford Township George Fallon (New J ersey)
Former Democratic Committeeman in Warren Township Jeffrey Golkin (New Jersey)
Former State Chair of Environmentalists for Clinton-Gore 1992 Roberta Weisbrod (New York)
Former Majority Leader in the State Senate David Carlin (Rhode Island)
Former Texas Democratic Party Chairman Roy Orr (Texas)
Elected National Delegate for Senator Hillary Clinton Debra Bartoshevich (Wisconsin)
Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Philip Frye (West Virginia)
Now That's Impressive!
Doesn't matter. I wouldn't vote for McCain/Palin based on anyone's opinion, either.
Wasted effort.
Crap what happens after four years of Obama the US is in a depression and we wind up with someone WAY more conservative than McCain.
Red Spot:
Even in one your cut and pastes on surveys you are reminded that we don't elect presidents by popular vote. Ask Al Gore about that.
When you read these polls, look instead at how they think the electoral votes stand. In every one, I mean every one, Obama is one or two battleground states from clinching the presidency, and he lead the popular vote in more than two of those states.
Don't get yourself distracted with national popular vote counts.
Haikula:
Of course this is race between two less than perfect choices. Almost all of them are. Imagine having to choose between Geo. Bush and John Kerry!
One of the most common reasons for picking a candidate to vote for is to be able to vote against the other person. It's one of the reasons that negative campaigning is used so much, and it's the reason that McCain has turned so heavily to it.
Read the Daily News editorial. McCain's campaign has been one of trying to create fear among the voters of Obama. On the other hand, Obama has not done the same although it would be easy to do.
McCain may not be Bush, but he has surrounded himself with all those Bush people who appear to have strong influence over him. That is something of which to be fearful, but it doesn't appear in Obama ads. More than I fear Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers, who probably would have no impact on President Obama, I fear the influence that Karl Rove would have on President McCain.
Alger meant sleight of hand, I think.
Obama should stay in Ohio, PA and WVA from now until the election and not leave. Not at all. Look what happens when he answers one question from a questionable plumber. There are racists rednecks there, but there are also people who are so scared of their own financial messes, they'll vote for Obama and never tell a soul. I should know. I'm from Morgantown, West Virginia.
Joe, that was a very prominent list of Independents and Democrats. I've heard of... none of them. Ha Ha
Colin Powell. He did it because he was black. Who cares?! He did it and that's all that matters.
I'm not so nice as the commenter who tells the poseur fool Haiku to STFU. I'm honestly thinking, shut the fuck up. You are annoying and stupid. Two of the traits I can barely tolerate in a human. Especially one who is not a nice human and nobody even knows if you're a man or a woman. You could be 16 or 61. Nobody cares either except when you try to start fights with other blog authors.
Three years ago, Freddie Mac secretly paid a Republican consulting firm $2 million to kill legislation that would have regulated Freddie and Fannie Mae.
The firm's chief executive is Doug Goodyear, another one of those big time lobbyists in McCain inner circle. Goodyear was hired to manage the GOP convention.
The bill failed when it didn't have enough Republican support.
All this is addtion to the fact that McCain's campaign manager or his lobbying firm took more than $2 million from Freddie and Fannie going back to 2000.
AP uncovered this stealth lobbying effort after three of the few people in Freddie Mac who knew about the lobbying decided to speak out.
Goodyear resigned from the Republican convention job earlier when Newsweek revealed that he had lobbied for the repressive military junta of Myanmar.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/THE_INFLUENCE_GAME_HOUSING?SITE=AP
The Powell endorsement, aside from the obvious benefits of helping to cut the legs out from under the charges that Obama palls around with terrorists or is inept at foreign policy, has had another important result:
It put McCain on the defensive for at least another day or two, and there aren't that many days left.
While Powell was making his endorsement, Obama attended 2 rallys in a swing state, attracting 100,000 and 75,000 people, and was announcing record smashing donations.
At the same time, Sarah Palin was allowing herself to be mocked on national television, and McCain floundered around somewhere.
Which campaign would you want to be part of?
Republicans in Florida and Virginia not get along with McCain campaign.
Florida Republican governor Charlie Crist and his state party leaders decided not to spend a planned $2 million on the McCain campaign there, and roll over the money to the next cycle.
Crist has also never appeared in a McCain TV ad.
McCain people got PO'd at Virginia Republican party leader Jeff Frederick for comparing Obama to Osama bin Laden. So those two aren't talking anymore.
This doesn't have the looks of a winning campaign.
File away under "ironic":
It was McCain who authored the bill in 2002 to overhaul campaign finance, but he did attempt to change change the system that now limits McCain to spending $84 million for the general election because he opted for public funds.
Obama raised $150 million last month alone, and can raise and spend as much more as he wants.
Some reactions to the Powell endorsement:
House Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri told CNN today that the Powell endorsement doesn't matter as much as Joe the plumber.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich of Georgia, a Republican luminary agreed with a Democratic strategist today on ABC that the ensorsemeht eliminated the experience argument. "How are you going to say the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, former secretary of state, former national security adviser, was taken in?”
The conservative-leaning RealClearPolitics.com summarizes the polls of others.
As of today it shows:
National popular vote: Obama +5%
Electoral votes (without toss up states) (270 needed to win)
Obama 286
McCain 155
Electoral votes (with toss up states)
Obama 364
McCain 174
Obama leads in all 7 battleground states.
So you can go ahead and post small changes in the national popular vote surveys, and I'll take the electoral votes.
Endorsements are important at this time in the campaign when the large focus in on the undecideds.
You have to wonder how someone could be undecided at this point? They could be people who still haven't picked between Pepsi and Coke.
You have to figure that neither candidate excites them. Maybe they don't believe the campaign promises they are hearing.
So it could be that an endorsement from someone they like or respect will make the difference.
Higby don't you have some better political analysts to offer up besides JoeB, Wet Spot and Jim "I Have a Political Career" Alger?
I think I'll go read Zuma Dogg for a while. At least I know that is comedy.
6:06 What's the matter? The fact that Alger is on point and knows what he is talking about bothers you?
What I'd like to know is why Alger is getting paid to blog on Mayor Sam. Look at Obama's FEC filings, Alger is on staff.
1. I'm voting for Obama because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.
2. I'm voting for Obama because freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.
3. I'm voting for Obama because when we pull out of Iraq the bad guys will stop what they're doing because they now think we're good people.
4. I'm voting for Obama because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday CAN tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a skateboard.
5. I'm voting for Obama because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.
6. I'm voting for Obama because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as they see fit.
7. I'm voting for Obama because I believe three or four elitist liberals need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe element who
would NEVER get their agendas past the voters.
8. I'm voting for Obama because I believe that when the terrorists from over there come over here, I don't want to have any guns in the house to fight them off.
9. I'm voting for Obama because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.
I'm voting for McCain because:
1. Obama is an empty suit and has never done anythng one can cite as meaningful.
2. Joe Biden is the Gaffe King and would be ten times the embarassement that was Dan Quale.
3. Sarsah Palin is the real thing and JOe Six Pack, and Joe the Plumber know it.
She resonates with the real people of this world who do not live on a coast or in corrupt Chicago.
The pundits are wrong here, and no amount of foreign money will change what the American people can see and hear and feel.
Gee-- I thought Colin Powell had altogether abandonned the battle field of politics and was just dubbing all those Star Wars voices these days....
Higby,
Gives us Haikula's qualifications for being on this blog, and don't tell us she is hot looking or you have a crush on her.
Can we setup a PayPal account to purchase a muzzle for Haikula, she is just an annoying fly on this blog, she should learn to STFU.
Haikula has no inside information about L.A. politics and adds no value to this blog, why did Higby even invite her here?
Wingnut Warning! Character assassination of the good general to begin at any moment!
LOL...oh, that is rich.
Yeah, let's just all forget about those "Bush House Negro" and "Warmonger" comments posted on Daily Kos & DU a mere 18 months ago.
He's now our champion!
Powell fell out of favor with conservatives long before Obama became a going concern.
Frankly, you can have him.
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