The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : The Dishonorable Colin Powell

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So…. Colin Powell, fulminating about the economy (as if he is an expert on that!) and avoiding all discussion of the incompetence and dishonesty of the Obama administration’s handling of Libya, has endorsed Barack Obama again. Gee, what a surprise. This is a man still playing out his personal picque at some imagined slights during the administration of Bush 43.

But this is a man without honor. This is a man who allowed the spending of millions of dollars in a witch-hunt of a law-enforcement investigation even while personally knowing that his own top aide had been the one who inadvertently leaked the name of a second-tier CIA agent with a dishonest and histrionic husband. One word from Colin Powell, and the “Valerie Plame” case would have come to an end with no prosecutions, but with a few days, maybe just one or two news cycles, of public admonishment of his office for its carelessness. But no… Powell remained silent, thus settling some score with vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and his boss, Vice President Richard Cheney — letting Libby twist in the wind for an alleged cover-up of a non-crime for which Libby himself wasn’t even responsible, but for which Powell’s aide Dick Armitage was culpable instead. (Libby was convicted on a highly dubious perjury charge, based on a years-old conversation with newsman Tim Russert that Russert remembered differently. This was the same Tim Russert whose own memory had been shown to be horrifically wrong in another major court case, but who suddenly was supposed to be perfectly inerrant. Meanwhile, famed newsman Bob Woodward produced notes that Woodward himself said might tend to support Libby’s recollection — but no matter.)

So, in order to protect a tiny nick to his reputation and that of his aide, Armitage, and in order to achieve a “gotcha” against a bureaucratic opponent, Libby, Powell was willing to let Libby have his career ruined and possibly his freedom curtailed (he faced possible prison time). That is pathetically dishonorable behavior from Powell, and it discredits anything else he ever does. Today’s endorsement comes from a man who built most of his reputation on one memorable turn of phrase about “cutting off the head” of the Iraqi army in 1991, but whose diplomacy so famously failed in gaining cooperation from longtime ally Turkey for the 2003 liberation of Iraq — a failure that set back the mission in ways that harmed it for the next two years.

Headline: Failed, Dishonorable Former Diplomat Endorses Obama; Cites (Failed) Economy as Reason.

Nobody should give a fig about today’s endorsement. Nobody.

View all comments (105) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

Sjccoach| 10.25.12 @ 9:20AM

Barack Obama affirmative action president. Colin Powell affirmative action general and secretary of state. What else would you expect?

Warrior| 10.25.12 @ 11:06AM

That is a very accurate assessment of his military prowess. If you could ask anyone in the command structure of Desert Storm you would quickly find out that without Schwarzkopf, Powell would have looked like Major Frank Burns from MASH.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.25.12 @ 11:12AM

You may recall that in January of 1991, Powell supported continued sanctions against Saddam Hussein (like so many actual Democrats in the legislature), rather than initiate the Desert Storm operation.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 3:01PM

and he would have been right then as he is now.

Daddy Bush's refusal to go to Baghdad was the most inspired leadership decision since RR cut and ran from Lebanon. He should have waited longer and extracted more concessions from Saudi and Kuwait before we went in.

Axiom that Americans need to embrace: "DO NOT GET INVOLVED IN MUSLIM BLOOD FEUDS"

Cheney got his contractor concessions on the way out the door and the cabal including Wolfowitz and Perle emerged and got their "Pearl Harbor level incident" on Junior's watch.

Powell was a good soldier, and he got burned for his loyalty through deceit and the criminal negligence of his political masters.

He needs to speak more on the subject, not less.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.25.12 @ 3:15PM

Congratulations, as I am having difficulty recalling any post of this size where I found so many opinions expressed with which I disagreed, and none to which I could attribute merit. You have exceeded the record of the proverbial stopped clock.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 3:57PM

Which one is wrong?

All of them are commonly accepted conclusions by the vast majority of observers.

You may have to reassess your worldview.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.25.12 @ 8:15PM

If you express an opinion that my house is yellow, and it is in fact white, then your opinion is “wrong”, as are your facts. If you express your opinion that you don’t like the color of my house, I might disagree with you, but that doesn’t mean that you’re “wrong”. That you don’t seem to understand this helps me to understand why I disagree with so much of what you post, and find what you believe to be facts to be conclusory and/or unsupported.

I stated a fact initially (Powell opposed starting Desert Storm on 011791 in favor of continuing sanctions). You chimed in with a series of opinions, some of which conflict with fact, but some are characterizations or value judgments which you are free to make, but with which I (and any other right-thinking person) are free to disagree.

As an example, our coalition goal in 1991 was to stop Saddam Hussein from further conquest and force him out of Kuwait, and the sanctions were not able to achieve either goal. Desert Shield halted his advance, and Desert Storm drove him out. Powell equivocated on the latter, which is a fact, and to the extent that the option that we chose achieved the goal of the coalition, that has been proven as a right course of action, while subsequent sanctions to change Saddam’s behavior are known to have been unsuccessful.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.25.12 @ 8:15PM

It has been reported that he supported the subsequent failure to go to Baghdad. If that is correct, you are criticizing that decision, while saying he was right, which is at best an irreconcilable position.

Occam's Tool| 10.25.12 @ 3:38PM

"Do Not Get Involved in Muslim Blood Fueds Without Carpet Bombing Both Sides."

That's better.

Derek Leaberry| 10.25.12 @ 1:09PM

You are right about Powell being an Affirmative Action general and Secretary of State. But we can blame both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush for that. Bush believes in Affirmative Action as much as any liberal. Once again, the Republican Party has turned its collective back on its voting base.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 3:05PM

Not true, the (R)ats have recognized that their Frankenstein Bagger creation is a malignancy that may not be curable.

Another cycle, another lost opportunity to take the Senate. It may be the end of the House majority by the next cycle if the (R)ats don't take back their party.

Bob K| 10.25.12 @ 9:40AM

Your article says more about the political corruption in the Department of Justice and how it has compromised the ethics of our once proud legal profession than it does about the pettiness of a military man who was promoted because of his skin color. The rot was there before he was newsworthy. It is still there for use by any incompetent or corrupt executive branch in the future.

We no longer know the difference between a nation of laws and a nation of lawyers.

Bob Grant| 10.25.12 @ 9:42AM

The bottom line is Colon Bowel crapped where he slept (the Republican Party) when he endorsed the "moderate" barack obama four years ago.

His credibility has been in the toilet ever since.

He had no choice but to endorse the "level-headed", "moderate" barack hussein obama once again.

I just with he'd quit referring to himself as moderate and republican. His self-promoting actions are more in line with the current democratic party.

He comes across just as disingenuous as the man he endorsed!

Bob Grant| 10.25.12 @ 9:43AM

Correction: I just WISH he'd quit referring to...

djn1313| 10.25.12 @ 10:24AM

It is hard to believe anyone thought he had intelligence.

Abu Nudnik| 10.25.12 @ 10:48AM

So why write about it?

JmsA| 10.25.12 @ 12:08PM

Don't feed the trolls; they're desperate!

Kingofthenet| 10.25.12 @ 10:51AM

Quin sure likes tossing around the 'Dishonorable' label, I guess being called that Slur by Quin is like a badge of honor.

Bob Grant| 10.25.12 @ 11:49AM

Queenie,

Only to trolls such as yourself.

Oldefarte| 10.25.12 @ 2:29PM

Hey KING"FISH" did the LAWYER CALHOON inspire that one??????

JP| 10.25.12 @ 11:03AM

Colin Powell was at the right place at the right time. Affirmative Action was hitting in the US Army as it finished its withdrawl from Vietnam. Powell, then a light colonel, was given a internship at OMB, and then was groomed for the top position. He served briefly as Reagan's NSA in 1988 before being given command of V Corps. From there he was given the keys to the JCS.

Powell was fortunate in two ways. First Dick Cheney was a no nonense Sec of Def. He gave Powell what ever he needed to accomplish the build up of Desert Storm. Secondly, Powell had waiting for him one of the finest operational staffs ever put together -CENTCOM. Generals Swartzkopf and USAF General Horner took all of the administrative and operational planning off Powell's shoulders. Cheney even threw in VII Corps to reinforce one of the greatest invasion forces every put together.

However, when it was all said and done, Powell screwed up. His main jobs was strategic adivce to Bush. And Powell's incompetence came to the fore. When his nation needed his "expertise", he failed. His decision to allow 2 Republican Guard Corps to live to see another day will go down as a strategic disaster of the first order. Yet, Murphy's Law wasn't finished. Bush43 made him Sec of State.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 3:11PM

Dick Cheney wanted Daddy to go to Baghdad. He didn't and history proves it was the best presidential military decision since JFK yanked the Jupiters.

Junior, on the other hand, was an easy mark for Cheney and his cabal of neocons.

Powell was influential in one regime, sadly pushed to the side in the second.

One thing is certain, all retired generals are pacifists, because they realize the costs do not match the benefits.

Occam's Tool| 10.25.12 @ 3:40PM

Yes, Curtis LeMay was known for his overwhelming Pacifism.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 3:46PM

I meant all retired generals who are not crazy and never believed in limited nuclear warfare.

The War college rightly purged LeMay's ilk soon after that episode.

The only General Ripper's in the mix today are suits in the neocon study group.

Occam's Tool| 10.25.12 @ 3:54PM

Yeah, but Curtis also WON his wars. And the odds weren't as good for Curt as they are for today's generals, and we lose ours a lot.

Maybe its because of the lawyered up military? I have never heard of a winning military where JAGs call the tactical shots.

Occam's Tool| 10.25.12 @ 4:04PM

Other non-pacifist retired generals/admirals: Halsey, Nimitz, Spruance, MacArthur, Schwartzkopf.

I don't recall Zhukov or Konev becoming pacifists, either.

We also have a few retired non-pacifist Marine Generals.

The major problem with our wars are two fold: one is setting up ridiculous desired outcomes that do not allow for victory combined with brain dead ROE that hold their civilians as being worth more than our military (who are also American citizens, by the way).

The second is assuming that Islamic countries are worth "Nation Building." We should destroy what we have to, kill who we need to, get our objectives met (destroy Iran's nuclear capability and destroy the mullahs with extreme prejudice, for example) and then leave them to their Islamic cesspool. They are not worth anything as allies or societies.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 4:14PM

The only wars we have lost or "tied" were one's either started or escalated by Texans, and in both cases refused to believe rational reports that countered their war plans.

Lemay was perfect for the pre-nuclear era, but he lacked the nuance as a top brass to fully understand the existential threats of nuclear arms.

His dalliance with Wallace also confirmed his late stage dimentia.

Texan in Alberta| 10.26.12 @ 3:50AM

Argumentum ad Texanum? Very nice, I'm sure the crazy escalator Eisenhower (as well as the aforementioned Nimitz) would really appreciate that.

Quartermaster| 10.26.12 @ 6:07AM

Your comment would be hilarious if it weren't so ignorant and stupid.

"LeMay's ilk" was not was not purged and it was the Navy combined with the SAC that LeMay built that allowed JFK to end the Cuban Missile crisis successfully. To state that LeMay did not "understand the nuance...existential threats of nuclear arms" is idiotic. LeMay understood them as few ever did. It was his command that dropped the only two nukes that have been dropped operationally in war and he visited Japan and saw the damage his command had done.

Only an ignoramus would accuse LeMay of dementia. I was out of the country for the '68 election, but Wallace was probably the best of the three running that year. I have no trouble with you not liking the man, but to say LeMay was demented and his "dalliance" with Wallace confirmed it is breathtakingly stupid.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.25.12 @ 11:15AM

Has Colin Powell ever been asked who he voted for in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004?

RJ| 10.25.12 @ 11:20AM

Powell saved the best for last by saying he is still a Republican, just a more moderate one, as if anyone really believes that Romney and McCain are conservative Republicans. Come on Colin, Romney was elected Governor in Massachusetts. Not exactly a hot-bed of conservatism and his campaigns for President has proven it.

RCV| 10.25.12 @ 11:53AM

If you had served our country half as well as General Powell, you might have something worthwhile to say on this subject. He's one of America's finest. We're proud to have him on our side.

Teflon93 | 10.25.12 @ 12:23PM

"Our side" being the people who hate America.

Dai Alanye | 10.25.12 @ 12:35PM

Powell was a careerist until he left the Army, whereupon he assumed the role of racist.

Quartermaster| 10.25.12 @ 12:37PM

You've hit the nail squarely on the head. Powell is a racist in every sense of the word.

He's also no moderate Repubbie either.

Tom Kyba| 10.25.12 @ 1:46PM

We're glad he's on your side too.

Occam's Tool| 10.25.12 @ 3:41PM

Sorry, RCV, he did a crap job.

RCV| 10.25.12 @ 7:13PM

One of the few honest, competent public servants in the wholly incompetent Bush administration.

Teflon93 | 10.25.12 @ 12:21PM

Colin Powell was a politician-in-uniform who began his rise to prominence by stealing "Cap" Weinberger's doctrine for his own, misapplying it disastrously during the Gulf War which made the Iraq War inevitable, then spending his tenure at State playing racquetball with Prince Bandar and sticking shivs in perceived Beltway enemies rather than doing his damned job---for which America paid the price when Turkey refused to support the invasion from the north that would have forestalled the counterinsurgency in Iraq.

He is a disgrace and history will only be kind because it is written by people for whom "the first black...." equals blanket exoneration from all character defects.

junkyard infidel| 10.25.12 @ 12:26PM

just like chavez, putin, castro, ahmadinejad, and the communist party usa have endorsed lil' berry hussein soetoro, so has colon ! imagine that !

JmsA| 10.25.12 @ 12:58PM

Yes, he did serve honorably in Viet Nam, only to turn into a partisan hack in disguise, who allowed a terrible injustice regarding the Libby affair, though he fully knew who the actual culprit had been. The man has no credibility. By the way, and consistent with his Jamaican roots and rooting for The One: Jamaicans are some of the most communist minded freaks in the world, so much so, the communist Cubans blush at Jamaican's extremist socialist views. Don't bother to deny it, for I not only heard it from a John Hopkins-trained Jamaican Neurologist, but I confirmed it by reading Jamaican newspapers during a brief stop in Kingston during a Caribbean cruise vacation. Moreover, former Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, a democratic socialist, forgive for repeating myself, was one of Castro's biggest apologists, who not only strengthened relations with Cuba, but also strongly advocated for the development of what he termed a natural alliance between the Non-aligned movement and the Soviet Union, to battle imperialism. In his 1979 Non-Aligned Movement speech, Manley proclaimed that all anti-imperialists know that the balance of forces in the world shifted irrevocably in 1917, when Lenin led the October Revolution. He also advocated for Jamaica and the World to adopt the Cuban Model. Powell has defended Castro, while also declaring that Castro had done some good things, on more than one occasion. I've always known he's on your side, RCV.

Oldefarte| 10.25.12 @ 1:26PM

Let me repeat myself. Powell would have been unheard of if not for Reagan and the Bushes, period! Wait, he was Norman Swartzkolf's boss? give me a break, since militarily he could not hold a candle to Stormin' Norman. It as only due to political affirmative action that he's even noteworthy, which is typical. Oh shall we say the Kennedys and the DNC giving an unknown secondary Seantor a speaking engagement at their party convention as a comparable occurrance perhaps? What do they both hold in common? Maybe they both have as a favorite meal that of chicken and ribs, with a side order of watermelon, who knows. One endorsing the other? Naturally....wonder why????????????

Oldefarte| 10.25.12 @ 2:43PM

No doubt what we are all in for in the coming weeks leading up to this election will be political endorsements from not only Powell, but also Jay-Z, Oprah, Beonce', Jesse Jackson Sr and Jr, Alphonse Sharpton, Maxine Waters, Marion Barry, Brian Gumbel, Sammy Davis Junior the Fifth, etc [all to insure the African American votes stays with the Democrats]. Nothing like voting FOR THE BEST QUALIFIED CANDIDATE, right?????

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 3:18PM

and Willard will have every redneck inbred parading as well for no other reason than having an exotic in the whitehouse is manifestly insulting.

Ever wonder why the (R)ats from pure red states continually vote against their own interests? Perhaps that's the question you should be asking.

Occam's Tool| 10.25.12 @ 3:45PM

Having been a (R) at for, oh, say, 15 years (8 in Texas and 7 in Alabama), we found that Liberals are vermin who are corrupt and essentially worthless. Say, Robert Byrd.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 3:50PM

How do you explain the charlatan Graham removing Mormonism from the list of cults? Is it because having a cultist with good hair is preferable to the exotic?

The cynicism is breathtaking.

Occam's Tool| 10.25.12 @ 4:05PM

No, it's because having a patriotic American is preferrable to having a red diaper baby in office. That's what Graham is thinking.

By the way, Mormons aren't cultists. Get to know some. I do.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 4:53PM

For folks like Billy and Franklin Graham, this is the key question about the Mormon church: does it preach a false or deceptive gospel? If so, then–for them–calling Mormonism a cult definitely isn’t going too far.

What then does this timely website alteration signify?

Trinacria| 10.25.12 @ 6:22PM

Dunno; perhaps it represents his pragmatic view that a competent Mormon beats the hell out of an incompetent anti-colonialist.

Oldefarte| 10.26.12 @ 11:28AM

It represents TELLING THE TRUTH, as Billy Graham has always done. Whats your preference, the good Rev. Wright and his GD AMERICA???????

Oldefarte| 10.26.12 @ 11:25AM

Mormons are no more a "cult" than I am a Lituanian condum repairer. You've been wiping your ars too long with your Holy Book perhaps and are now unable to read its pages/meanings. The "exotic"? What a crock of excrement! Exotic as in as falsification of one's beliefs as being Christian while subversively sitting in front of a raving maniacal black liberation preacher that is abut as "Christian" as a Muslim terrorist, and all of political improvement purposes? "Exotic" in purposely allowing four American diplomats to be murdered by your fellow Muslim extremists? "Exotic" in call the murder of twenty US military service personnel at Fort Hood by a deranged Muslim terrorist a case of WORKPLACE VIOLENCE ???????? GTH!!!!

Oldefarte| 10.26.12 @ 11:18AM

CanSUCKistani: The difference between those "redneck inbred" and your favored stupid, mongaloid, spear-chunkers is that the former historically work for their financial living/support and pay taxes that provide the food, clothing, housing, transportation and yes even OBAMA PHONES to the latter. Take note however, that all that will cease beginning 2/1/13 when the governmental welfare system begins being dismantled, so tell your fellow benefit-suckers to enojoy same while it lasts. Oh and as to those "(R)ats from pure red states continually vote against their own interests", I [and my fellow (R)ats have historically voted Republican [and absolutely FOR OUR OWN INTERESTS AS TAXPAYERS] for the last several decades [after the (D)iseased Democratic Party became the Governmental Welfare Providing Party] and will do so again in huge numbers on 11/6/12, thereby kicking the BLACK JESUS MUSLIM out of office and send him and his socialistic/communistic crew back to the southside of Chicago!!!!!!!!!

Trinacria| 10.25.12 @ 1:32PM

Powell is the quintessential example of a minority who bitches about the existence of stereotypes while simultaneously reinforcing them. If you don't like stereotypes, General, stop acting like one.

Tom Kyba| 10.25.12 @ 1:50PM

I still believe Colin Powell was lampooned as General Casey in "Mars Attacks" as he was part of the Bush administration then. Now the caricature actually fits.

sam1953| 10.25.12 @ 2:13PM

Powell has become one of the only military men I have come to despise. Just another racist voting the same color of his skin. He obviously has his head in the sand again.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 3:29PM

Why? Because he has a brain?

Forget ground tactics, that was not his responsibility. His responsibility was to assert the militaries' capabilities to the civilian leadership. Desert Storm ended in three days and Powell organized the DoD to do their jobs, and they did it superbly.

In Junior's regime, he was at State, not defense. The neocons trashed Shinseki's war plan, and Rumsfeld merrily complied - leading us to an additional 5 years of engagement. Powell would not have been so stupid as Rumsfeld and Mullen/Pace.

Think before you cavalierly fire aimlessly into areas you know zero about.

How many men died or are permanently injured due to Rummies miscalculations and JCS acquiescence? How many died abetting Junior's daddy complex?

All brass-level men I know do not sleep soundly at night when they order men into harm's way. I respect their empathy much more than the empty rhetoric vomited on here.

Trinacria| 10.25.12 @ 4:00PM

The cornerstone of leadership is judgment. Reasonable people can disagree about a particular policy position or the merits of a particular strategy, but to analyze the performance of this administration over the last 4 years and conclude that it has been anything other than an unmitigated disaster is simply intellectually dishonest and a clear sign of poor judgment.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 4:26PM

His judgment has been near spot on.

Inflation is down, employment is up, foreclosures are down, the dow is up, way up. He exited Iraq, killed Bin Laden and has refused to gut social programs when they are needed the most.

He got the europeans to almost exclusively engage in Libya, the sanctions are crippling Iran and Russia and China are lowering their rhetoric. Bibi has even childlishly called for early elections in order to escape the rhetorical trap that sprung back on him.

We spend 30-40% more on healthcare than any other OECD country with lesser outcomes. Our businesses are not competitive for this fact alone, and ACA is just step one to address this disparity. (R)ats solution: do nothing, and let real competitive drags continue to grow.

We spend far too little on innovation and education, and the rankings prove this.

The (R)ats are beholden to continuing antiquated strategies that support increasing defense spending and the ludicrous quest for clean coal. Both obvious pork programs that cost trillions with nearly zero benefit to the country.

Comparing BHO to Junior is an easy task, comparing him to RR will be more difficult, but I am confident his legacy will be as rich.

Trinacria| 10.25.12 @ 5:24PM

With all due respect, you've rather made my point.

Inflation is down? Because the rate excludes those items for which costs have skyrocketed under the Obama administration; namely, food and energy.
Employment is up? Huh? There are fewer Americans working today than there were on the day Obama took office. Participation in the labor market is at historic lows. The unemployment rate has yet to drop below the rate on the day Obama took office, despite the fact that there are fewer people in the labor market (which artificially deflates the reported unemployment rate).
Foreclosures are down? Yes, and so is the number of new home purchases. Inventory is low, yet prices remain stagnant as credit remains tight and families remain stuck in homes in which their equity has plummeted.
He exited Iraq and killed bin Laden. And through his ham-fisted, lead-from-behind, amateurish foreign policy he has fueled the rise of the militant islamic muslim brotherhood in Egypt, Lybia, and Tunisia, further embroiled us in the quagmire of Afghanistan, failed to deter Iran's progress towards nuclear capability, alienated Israel, and markedly destabilized the region.

Trinacria| 10.25.12 @ 5:32PM

"We spend 30-40% more on healthcare than any other OECD country with lesser outcomes. Our businesses are not competitive for this fact alone, and ACA is just step one to address this disparity."

Lesser outcomes? What outcomes? Relative to whom? Pulling statements out of your ass doesn't make them true. Please if you will provide a single data point that supports your absurd claim.

And businesses aren't competitive because of healthcare costs? Negative, US businesses aren't competitive globally because of the extraordinarily high tax and regulatory burden relative to non-US businesses. Not only is ACA not the first step towards correcting this inequity, it exacerbates it. Healthcare costs at my company have INCREASED substantially as a result of ACA (by the way, if this weren't true, why would the adminstration have to issue thousands of waivers to companies for whom ACA is financially crippling?).

Trinacria| 10.25.12 @ 5:40PM

"We spend far too little on innovation and education, and the rankings prove this."

Wrong again (you really should do your homework before pulling shit out of your ass). In point of fact, as the link below indicates, the US spends more per student than any other country in the world; if fact, it spends nearly 40% more per student than the second closest country, and yet US students perform no better than 10th in math and 9th in science compared to other countries. Why? Because the money isn't really being spent on teachers and students; it's being spent on unions and "administrators" who then provide kickbacks to democrats in the form of campaign contributions.

http://mat.usc.edu/u-s-educati.....fographic/

Really, sport, you're making this too easy.

Trinacria| 10.25.12 @ 5:47PM

"Comparing BHO to Junior is an easy task, comparing him to RR will be more difficult, but I am confident his legacy will be as rich."

Rest assured, when it comes to the legacy of BHO, the historical record will be clear. Never before in American history has any individual been such an insidious malignancy. His administration will be a reminder for generations to come of the catastrophic consequences of a gullible, ill-informed electorate that shamefully abandons its duty to take it's vote seriously.

Oldefarte| 10.26.12 @ 11:49AM

You're stupid and your posting prove it. What are you an African-American applying the Powell Doctrine of ars-kissing for racial politics to this unqualified, incompetent Muslim sympathizing POTUS ["""""stupidly"""" elected by the Americn public]. He didn't kill UBL, the Seals did. Inflation is down due to Bernanke's arbitrarily holding interest rates down for governmental welfare purposes and to attempt to repair the economic damage done by this un-president. We spend fare too much on public education, and 90% of it goes in the pockets of the labor unionized ignorant/unqualified teachers who are producing socialized grade promoted idiots who can't read, write, spell and properly capitalize [sound familiar?]. The sanctions aren't doing excrement to stop Iran, and this inept president is allowing numerous exemptions to Russia/China etc so that they can continue supplying armaments to their friend Iran [oh and check out what was really happening in Bengahzi as far as this was concerned, as ya boy was gun-running to Muslim elements in same]. Oh and we'll begin spending far less on healthcare in this country next year, when the federal pursestrings are tightened on Medicaid, Aid to Dependent Children etc!!!!!!!!!!!

Vance P. Frickey| 10.28.12 @ 3:09PM

Canuckistan: His judgment has been near spot on.

wrong, almost every time he was given a chance. the only variable is whether Obama's incompetence or venality are the issue.

Canuckistan: Inflation is down,

Only because there's not enough demand for goods to drive any inflation - when unemployment has been steady and high throughout Obama's term;

Canuckistan: employment is up,

Only owing to the most cynically fabricated figures for national unemployment ever generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics - if the same metrics had been employed by previous administration, the Bush and Clinton administrations would have shown NEGATIVE unemployment, with a significant portion of the US population holding down multiple jobs :)

Canuckistan: foreclosures are down,

Because Obama has stolen from half the taxpayers to GIVE money to avoid foreclosure to others - the Robbin' Obama School of Economics

Canuckistan: the dow is up, way up.

granted;

Canuckistan: He exited Iraq,

Allowing it to become a satellite of Iran

Canuckistan: killed Bin Laden

No. A SEAL killed Bin Laden, relying on intelligence developed over a period of ten years during both Obama and Bush administrations, using resources which would have been unavailable during the Clinton administration; Clinton left defense and intelligence so poorly capable that a large part of the Bush deficits were incurred repairing that damage.

Vance P. Frickey| 10.28.12 @ 3:11PM

Canuckistan: and has refused to gut social programs when they are needed the most.

Creating massive debt which our children and grandchildren will be obligated to pay with any surpluses they may otherwise have had.

This is called "generational theft." Bush did it, too, but that's no excuse for Obama to campaign against Bush's debt in 2008, then create double the debt Bush incurred over both of his terms in THREE YEARS. If it was wrong for Bush, it's inexcusable for someone who campaigned against it, thus knew it was wrong, then didn't TRY to reduce the debt.

Vance P. Frickey| 10.28.12 @ 3:13PM

canuckistan: He got the europeans to almost exclusively engage in Libya, the sanctions are crippling Iran and Russia and China are lowering their rhetoric.

You seem to have Libya and Syria mixed up in your mind. But we've seen how Obama's engagement of the Libyans has worked - he disgracefully allowed the Benghazi consulate to be overrun when a Marine Force Recon unit at Sigonella, Italy - just across the Gulf of Sirte - was available to conduct an evacuation of American citizens. Africa Command had additional assets in the area which could have been employed, but General Ward (CINC of Africa Command) stated "no one asked us to go in there." Since Gen. Ward has four stars on each shoulder, the number of people who could have kept him from helping our people in Libya is a very small club - Chairman of the JSC Dempsey, Secretary Panetta, and the President.

And Obama's management (if you can call it that ) of the Syria situation bids fair to allow radical Islamists to control the chemical and biological weapons of the al-Assad regime.

canuckistan: Bibi has even childlishly called for early elections in order to escape the rhetorical trap that sprung back on him.

As opposed to Obama's electioneering, which has basically consisted of taping talk shows and heading to Las Vegas while global crises involving nuclear proliferation and the deaths of American diplomats were raging.

Vance P. Frickey| 10.28.12 @ 3:18PM

canuckistan: We spend 30-40% more on healthcare than any other OECD country with lesser outcomes.

"Lesser outcomes," according to prevailing OECD standards, includes providing life-saving treatment to the elderly and disabled here in America. Steven Rattner, architect of Obama's GM-Chrysler bailout, wrote a recent op-ed in the New York Times which began: "WE need death panels." The remainder of the article was Beltwayese for "We can't afford to keep the old folks and cripples alive and shouldn't try to." This from a guy who broke the US federal budget to make sure the members of the United Auto Workers kept their six-figure salaries (because they can be counted to vote for Obama, while Granny and Tiny Tim can't).

canuckistan: Our businesses are not competitive for this fact alone, and ACA is just step one to address this disparity. (R)ats solution: do nothing, and let real competitive drags continue to grow.

Actually, ACA (known to everyone else as "ObamaCare") will effectively outsource millions of jobs because American workers whose employers are now paying for THEIR healthcare AND someone else's cannot compete economically with Indian, Korean, Mexican or Chinese workers. Obama will have succeeded in exporting what little manufacturing economy remains in American with his rape of the healthcare economy. Obama's 20% tax on health device manufacturing will destroy jobs in one of the very few industries the United States now dominates. Way to go, Democrats!

Vance P. Frickey| 10.28.12 @ 3:20PM

canuckistan: We spend far too little on innovation and education, and the rankings prove this.

Actually, we outspend almost EVERYONE on education per pupil in our publicly-owned schools, and it's precisely these schools which lag the world in educational outcomes. Teachers' unions in the United States do only ONE thing well - funnel taxpayers' money from education to the coffers of the Democratic Party through forced contributions taken from union dues;

As far as 'funding innovation,' it's been shown time and time again that innovation has been funded most successfully when new technologies evolved to perform complex tasks in the defense and business sectors. Almost all of American business dominance the past thirty years resulted from spin-off technology, such as microelectronics and information technology developed for banking and defense.

Vance P. Frickey| 10.28.12 @ 3:21PM

canuckistan: The (R)ats are beholden to continuing antiquated strategies that support increasing defense spending and the ludicrous quest for clean coal. Both obvious pork programs that cost trillions with nearly zero benefit to the country.

Again, half-right, less than half-informed. Defense technology has given us the micro-electronics which fueled several tech business booms.

Now, canuckistan, you're blaming Romney and the Republicans for clean coal, a surprise to the Obama campaign - from a new Obama radio ad in Ohio:

"When he ran for President, Barack Obama pledged to support clean coal and invest in new technologies," the ad says.

"And Mitt Romney? He’s attacking the president’s record on coal," the narrator says. "Here’s what Romney said in 2003 at a press conference in front of a coal plant: 'I will not create jobs or hold jobs that kill people. And that plant, that plant kills people.'"

So you're either ignorant or a liar. You choose which you want to take credit for.

Vance P. Frickey| 10.28.12 @ 3:24PM

canuckistan: Comparing BHO to Junior is an easy task, comparing him to RR will be more difficult, but I am confident his legacy will be as rich.

"Rich" is often used to describe soil when it is full of manure. THAT, I'd be willing to concede of Barack Obama and his legacy.

Barack Obama's ads here in Colorado center on false allegations that Mitt Romney intends to deprive women of citizenship, access to "many forms of birth control" (a mealy-mouthism which only accurately describes "abortions on demand to underage women") and solicitousness for an American middle class which Barack Obama spent most of his young life despising and plotting with his friend Rick Ayers to destroy.

Romney, to his credit, has chosen a higher road when destroying Barack Obama's image would be simplicity itself. A skilled political operator could have avenged himself on Obama many times over for the "dog on the top of the car" meme by speaking to Obama's career as a foreign student in American colleges; he appears to have sworn to being an Indonesian national in order to qualify for that status, with dubious ramifications for his US citizenship - if you swear to being a foreign student while resident in the United States, doesn't that require you renouncing your US citizenship? Many people think so, and this isn't anything to do with Obama's birth, but with his choice as an adult to be an Indonesian, not an American.

Oldefarte| 10.26.12 @ 11:35AM

Powell would have never been heard of if Reagan and the Bushes hadn't promoted him. He's an affirmative action nobody that was given jobs that twenty thousand other more qualifieds should have obtained but did not duee to political correctness. Powell didn't earn his fame and fortune with his brain/work ethic, and now he's stabbing those responsible for same in the political back!!!!!!!!!

C. Vernon Crisler | 10.25.12 @ 2:15PM

Let's face it, Powell was a Republican prop, a good looking black man who was on "our side" and could be used as exhibit #1 that Republicans-aren't-racist. So his promotions up the ladder were for political theater, and Republicans only have themselves to blame for advancing quota blacks, who stab them in the back at the first opportunity.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 3:30PM

How do you explain Junior, then? Obvious suitability or a useful idiot?

Oldefarte| 10.26.12 @ 11:52AM

Many of us would gladly take back "Junior" over the domestic terrorists now in charge!!!!!!

RCV| 10.25.12 @ 7:21PM

The usual GOP tactic of running down a defector from the growing insanity in their party. If Condi Rice ever comes to her senses and leaves the once-honorable party, she'll get the same treatment. The party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Henry Cabot Lodge, Bill Scranton, George Romney, Everett Dirksen, Clifford Case, Mark Hatfield, Margaret Chase Smith, Tom Kuchel, Earl Warren and so many other giants, has become a collection of misogynistic, Randian cultists. Very sad to see. But it will soon pass into history.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.25.12 @ 8:22PM

Eisenhower himself is reported to have called his appointment of Earl Warren to Chief Justice of the SCOTUS the biggest mistake of his Presidency. Do you want to excise Ike from your list now?

RCV| 10.26.12 @ 1:50AM

Absolutely not. His speech on leaving the Presidency is a testament to his American common sense. And any man Robert Welch of the John Birch Society believed was "a communist" is a sensible moderate Republican in normal peoples' minds.

Oldefarte| 10.26.12 @ 11:57AM

He also sent federal troops into Arkansas to desegregate public schools...do you critisize him for that also? He also was instrumental in our winning WWII....do you critisize him for that? He wasn't a subversive enemy plant like what we're now faced with!!!!!!!!!!

RCV| 10.26.12 @ 9:14PM

You're not reading the posts Oldfarte. I was expressing admiration for Ike, the kind of Republican I wish we had more of today. He was indeed a great American.

Oldefarte| 10.25.12 @ 2:35PM

I'll both disagree and agree with your comment, in that Reagan and the Bushes simply gave Powell political opportunities which he never would have had otherwise. In turn he [as you state] stabbed them in the back for their kindness. It also goes to the question regarding his courage as a high-ranking military officer, since he obvioulsy has caved into the political pressure from the African-American predominate faction within today's Democratic Party control for his endorcement. It won't accompolish what they want, since it's last-minute desperate attempt to stop the leaks in the political Titanic will all be for naught!!!!!!!!

FastJohnny| 10.25.12 @ 2:35PM

I am not inclined to like Powell for allowing the aforementioned BS to happen under his watch, however there are some mitigating circumstances. The strongest one would be that whether he likes it or not, Obama is his boss and the overall commander of all armed forces of the US. When the commander and chief says jump, a soldier is supposed to say how high? Now, this is not an excuse, any good soldier and good American should know when an order is morally wrong and bring it to the attention of some sort of oversight safety valve. However, where does one go when it is the highest ranking commander in the nation? Powell doesn't strike me as a whistle blower and although I respected his past service, I do think that his sense of duty should have included making it known that there were morally and anti-American decisions being made at the highest level. His failure to stand up and say something or do something makes him complicit even if he wasn't involved.

Controse| 10.25.12 @ 3:00PM

"Obama was his boss..." What the hell are you talking about? Powell hasn't been in government since he resigned as Secretary of State during the Bush administration.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 3:35PM

Don't worry, they'll be believing 9/11 happened during the Carter administration.

What the neocons - and their sycophants on here - did to Shinseki to lard up the pretext to war is all children need to learn about the period. Powell's useful idiocy is a testament to what evil interests can compel honorable men to do.

Oldefarte| 10.26.12 @ 12:00PM

The "pretext to war"? Many of us disagree with the methods used, but do you deny the need for retaliation after 9/11/01, after the USS Cole, after the first WTC bombing, after our worldwide embassies being attacked? Obviously you're a Clintonian moron, or possibly worse, a Paulista instead!!!!!!!!

Occam's Tool| 10.25.12 @ 3:47PM

Powell was retired before Obama came on the scene. He was an ex-soldier.

ebonystone| 10.25.12 @ 2:50PM

Colin Powell and Barack Obama: one affirmative-action baby endorses another.

Controse| 10.25.12 @ 2:57PM

As hard as it is to comprehend his endorsement of Obama, or whoever he is, today forces the disgrace spoken of here into the far background. What his silence did to Libby was after all done to one man. He spoke out today to further a cause that if successful will condemn the people of our formally great nation to misery for decades.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 3:41PM

Libby deserved it, and Junior's refusal to pardon him was probably the only inspired decision of his presidency.

We went to war on a lie. That is the ultimate sin of military and civilian leadership.

Throwing one political hack to the wolves does not even begin to heal the wounds inflicted on our young fighters by the malfeasance of their leadership.

Like rats skurrying when the lights come on is the testament to the Junior regime and his neocon abettors.

Oldefarte| 10.26.12 @ 12:04PM

"Went to war on a lie"? then obviously you're calling 9/11/01 "a lie"....tell that to the relatives of the 3000 innocents who died on that day [some of whom jumped 25 stories our of office buildings and hit the concrete at 100 MPH]! Jackars!!!!!!!

HopeChangeInAZ| 10.25.12 @ 3:49PM

I personally could never understand why Powell was given so much credibility in the first place and I never really cared for him. After he endorsed Obama in 2008, I cared for him even less and now that he has endorsed Obama again after the last four years of disappointment, I can safely say I fully dislike the man. With Republicans like Powell, who needs Democrats?

florin| 10.25.12 @ 4:22PM

Oct. 25: Colin Powell is a disgrace to the uniform. He should be booted out of the Republican party. He votes for Obama simply because Obama is black...well, he isn't black he is mulatto. I thought that after Obama had gone to bed and then to Vegas after having been informed that our Embassies were under attack and our Ambassador and other Americans had been killed Powell would have seen that Obama is not only incompetent as President but incompetent as Commander-in-Chief...but Powell is a wuss, pouting like a sore loser...a coward.

canuckistani| 10.25.12 @ 4:32PM

My Pet Goat.

Mission Accomplished.

Stop loss.

Viceroy L. Paul Bremer

5000 dead, 100k injured with diminished benefits and no domestic plan to support them.

Versus a consulate attack in a nacent democracy that had been a beligerent for 40 years.

Get real.

Oldefarte| 10.26.12 @ 12:07PM

No fool, that "consulate attack in an nacent democracy" was actually a gun-running operation by this group of domestic terrorists in charge to their Muslim Brotherhood friends within the ME. Fast & Furious will explode when all the facts come out!!!!!!!!!!

JakeJ| 10.25.12 @ 5:59PM

"No one should give a fig about tday's endorsement."

--------------

Are you trying to tell us something? The American Spectator obvious "gives a fig." Does this mean that you're no one?

Mike W| 10.25.12 @ 9:44PM

Powell's failure to get Turkey to go along with the invasion set the campaign back two years??

What complete assinine drivel. What total utter nonsense. The US in their foolish entry into Iraq had the initial stabilization complete within 3 weeks. It all fell apart in the summer of 2003.

Turkey had nothing to do with that debacle, known as Operation Iraqi Freedom. That war was a piece of garbage without the aid of Turkey.

Regarding Powell, it's all about race.

Teflon93 | 10.26.12 @ 8:35AM

Quite wrong. The plan was a two-pronged advance on Baghdad, one from the north. The northern prong failed because Powell was too busy engaging in Beltway backstabbing to make it happen. The chaos immediately following the invasion was due in large part to an inability to control the cities which became insurgent strongholds (backed by Iran). Not a problem with the two pronged invasion as north and south would be pacified simultaneously and Kurdish fighters from the north could join the effort to restore stability and hunt for Saddam.

But you no doubt would have bravely preferred to allow Saddam Hussein to continue attempting to assassinate U.S. presidents, to continue training terrorists, and to continue manufacturing WMD. Or did you not realize that media reports to the contrary the army found significant chemical and biological stockpiles even after the regime's sweep prior to the invasion?

Texan in Alberta| 10.26.12 @ 3:58AM

The Pentagon does awful things to good soldiers. Affirmative action does bad things to nice people. Not everyone, of course, but it happens. Colin Powell was not a world shaker then and he's not evil now ... but he certainly has a past and a position to be annoying to folks ( including me).

percynjpn| 10.26.12 @ 4:23AM

All I know is I'm so glad he didn't have the guts to run for president, because I may very well have made the horrible mistake of voting for him. What a fraud this parasite turned out to be - barry and colin: two peas in a pod of lies and shamelessness.

spike59| 10.26.12 @ 6:12AM

Powell, in his dotage, is about as relevant as 'Miami Vice' reruns...

CLD| 10.27.12 @ 2:26PM

"Nobody should give a fig about today's endorsement. Nobody."

And nobody does.

Seek| 10.27.12 @ 7:02PM

Colin Powell, very publicly, also has denounced the GOP for its "racism." The truth is he's a black race hustler -- a nicer, more genteel version of Jesse Jackson.

Vance P. Frickey| 10.28.12 @ 12:20PM

I agree. Colin Powell is out for Colin Powell.

He could have actually influenced the GOP profoundly - I know a LOT of white people (including me, once) who would have supported him in a run for the Presidency. My mom, as apolitical a woman as I've ever met, even thought Powell would be a good choice for the job.

We dodged a bullet - this guy is Obama with gravitas.

Vance P. Frickey| 10.28.12 @ 12:16PM

Racist.

Vance P. Frickey| 10.28.12 @ 1:45PM

I referred, in my haste to get in the record, to Secretary Powell, not the author of the article. Powell has no other excuse for supporting Barack Obama, having been exposed to real political power, than a clear preference for people of his own color. At least with Obama, he gets half of the way there.

But for Powell to cite the state of the economy as a reason for KEEPING Barack Obama is evidence of pure racism. Barack Obama declined to fix the economy when he had Democratic supermajorities in both Houses of Congress - instead, he decided to reward his political supporters with money borrowed in our children's and grandchildren's names, steal GM and Chrysler from their creditors and stockholders to give to the United Auto Workers in the kickback deal of all time and history, and has since failed to grasp the nettle that Bill Clinton did - Clinton balanced the US budget because he had no alternative - the Republican Congress brought him to the point where he could be part of the solution or be irrelevant. Clinton, to give him credit, chose to be relevant to American politics. Obama has not made that choice.

Aaron Investigates | 10.28.12 @ 9:30PM

Unfortunately as far as I am concerned this is the final nail in the coffin for Gen. Powell's reputation.

After Benghazi he, a military man, comes out in favor of Obama?

Thanks, but no thanks.