Powell endorsed Obama

carnivore

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/us_elections_2008/7678841.stm

flux

Thats the last nail in the coffin. The race is as good as over. Move away from the accident....nothing to see here.....

alafairnadia

interesting. the guy who was a fantastic candidate a few elections ago endorsing obama. huh. not sure what to think, though I still know I'd have voted powell against my usual party-line voting habits in a heartbeat. I don't mind republicans as long as they remember what it means - get the FUCK out of my personal life and cut spending, you jerks. and don't forget that crazy constitution thing you say you adhere to. but since most of them are morons they make elections pretty easy. (only once in my life have I voted repub and that was for bloomberg before he did his "just kidding, I'm indie!" which was genius)

ugh, babbling. still not sure how I feel about obama - every time I start to like him I remember FISA and that pesky constitution and my constitutional law professor and, well, get pissed off at him again. despite the awesome smirk.

I also still can't get past the fact that hardcore catholic freaking SPAIN has gay marriage and this "melting pot" is too dumb to just accept it and move on.

alafairnadia

more on Carnivore's post:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7679064.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7678923.stm

seriously, mccain sounds like an idiot in the second one. he totally saw the recent HBO chris rock special and the undercurrent in mccain's blithering is "well, he IS a black guy endorsing a black guy - what stock can you put in that?!?!? I have 10 billion 700 year old ex service people on my payroll! now that's dependable! plus, I've got palin - hockey players and women will totes vote for me! got it in the bag!"

won't ub my nabor

I looked at the second link and did not think that there was any obvious or even subtle racial under current to McCain's statement. I think McCain is "not surprised" about Powell's decision to endorse Obama (and therefore not endorse McCain) because he understands that it was the best thing for Powell to do in order to distance himself from Bush and Powell's role in the Iraq war.

The whole "yellow cake" debacle is a big stain on Powell's resume. He has said that it is "painful" and lamented that will always be part of his record. So to the extent that Obama's campaign has been extremely effective in making the parallel between McCain and Bush's agenda, including their views on the war, Powell's choice to not endorse McCain is politically astute -- with that one endorsement he has put more distance between himself and Bush, "yellow cake" and the unfortunate role that he himself played in the launch of the Iraq war.

Rather than McCain's comment having racial under currents, I think it has political under currents. McCain is Bush's mini-me. So he is "not surprised" that Powell would not endorse him.

alafairnadia

how do I type the whole tomato tomato thing? I hear one thing, you hear another - no biggie. just like I thought clinton got a really unfair shake by the media because she's a woman, some folks saw it as her campaign being idiotic. that issue is a bit closer to me, obvi, so it's also emotional for me, but I'm paranoid. I think part of mccain's message in that blither was pointed at racists who are likely to hear him saying "don't vote for the black guy - you're right, I'm a better guy for the job." but hey, I'm paranoid, moving out of the country, and a lawyer who reads a lot into how words are used, etc. sometimes I overdo it, and I can be woman enough to know that, but most of the time my gut is right. if I don't follow my instincts in a poker game and play "by the book" whichever book you're talking about, I lose my shirt. sure, I don't win with gut feeling all the time (it is gambling), and I have been way overly paranoid about shit in the past. but really, I'd bet on me in this one. however, mccain is so old, I doubt it was a conscious choice of wording/delivery that caused his words to say to me that he was aiming his comments at people's conscious or unconscious racist core.

won't ub my nabor

I agree that based on their own preconceived notions some may latch on to McCain's statement as a racist dismissal of Powells' endorsement. But that totally was not my reaction to his statement. I thought it was pretty neutral. It seems like a natural response. Even if McCain was surprised at the endoresement, it would look weak admit it publically. So what does he say to maintain the front. "It does not come as a surprise."

I'm actually an attorney as well. PrObama. I am also African American woman so I too am pretty attune to word play and tend to hear between the lines of what is spoken and unspoken about race and gender. I viewed the link with my spidey-sense on, but this just did not set off my radar. But as you said: To-may-toes. To-mah-toes.

GObama!!

carnivore

Now former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan is backing Obama.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/23/mcclellan-endorses-obama_n_137358.html

ophra

Carnivore wrote: Now former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan is backing Obama.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/23/mcclellan-endorses-obama_n_137358.html

I just saw that on CNN.

Also on CNN, DL Hughley is going to have a new CNN show. I just laughed when he was talking about Sarah Palin being able to see Russia from Alaska. He said "....and I can see the moon from my window. That doesn't make me an astronaut"