Colin Powell Endorses Obama

I don't know how much this news means to the average American, but I found it noteworthy, so here it is... Colin Powell-- the man who (regretfully) gave one of the key presentations necessary to helping Pres. Bush sell his war in Iraq-- has decided to endorse Barack Obama for President (the right, of course, is responding all pissy, by playing the race card).

Let the purging of party moderates continue full pace, GOP!



The reason I find this noteworthy isn't the endorsement, per se, since I have no clue if voters even pay attention to this stuff. Rather, it's how he elaborates on his thinking here... his condemnation of the current state of the GOP, his regret at the McCain camp's increasingly vile tactics, his support for the calm governing approach of Obama, and the polarization of American politics. These were all the notes I wanted to see hit.

I also recommend watching Powell speaking with the press after the endorsement, where he goes further. He touches on the differences between McCain and Obama, Iraq, the GOP's divisive McCarthyism, and the new 'socialist' attacks on Obama. In regards to the latter, he said it's "because [Obama] dares to suggest that maybe we ought to look at the tax structure that we have. Taxes are always a redistribution of money. Most of the taxes that are redistributed go back to those who pay them, in roads and airports and hospitals and schools. And taxes are necessary for the common good. And there's nothing wrong with examining what our tax structure is or who should be paying more or who should be paying less, and for us to say that makes you a socialist is an unfortunate characterization that isn't accurate," then adding his dislike of taxes is outweighed by dislike of deficits and outdated infrastructure. Refreshing to see a defense like that of progressive tax policy, particularly coming from a life-long Republican.

[PS- Looking for the SNL/Palin clips? NBC has them on their website for free viewing.]