Endorsement For McCain
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for President this morning.
This was not an unexpected event. Sec. Powell, a rather non-political person, and at best a lukewarm Republican, has been smarting for some time over his perceived lack of deference from the Bush Administration. This opportunity presented him with a reasonable situation to distance himself from George Bush without appearing truculent. In addition, Obama's style is more in concert with Sec. Powell's, than John McCain's. And, without attempting to diminish Sec. Powell's sincere and thoughtful motivations, I would daresay that the opportunity to endorse a candidate of color for the Presidency, is one of such magnitude and magnetism for all people of color, that the attraction was a significant, and difficult to resist, factor in his decision.
All that being said, I felt that it was time to declare my own endorsement. Here it is:
During the past almost-eight years, the Unites States has gone through almost as much trauma as it did during past significant trial periods of it's existence: the Civil War; WW I; WW II; Viet Nam; and now...the economic potential of a Depression-like financial crisis.
The past two years have seen the ascendancy of a held-in-check Democrat controlled House and Senate, and during that time we have seen the face of this party which for the most part, it is filled with bitterness, anger, and iconoclastic 60's class warfare rage. Couple that with a Presidential candidate who has clearly demonstrated his philosophical orientation to be that of an anti-capitalist, agnostic-at-best, radical socialist demagogue, masked-man, and you have the makings of a petri dish of immense proportions that would provide the perfect climate for the growth of a deadly virus that could wipe out the American culture as we have known it.
No more do we have a candidate saying "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country". Now we have both candidates vying to see who can present the most attractive "goody bag" to the voters. Senator Obama now makes no pretense about his socialist philosophy, telling "Joe the Plumber" that he wants to tax and spread the wealth around - a clear repetition of Marx's "From each according tho his ability, to each according to their needs".
I believe that Senator McCain is the least attractive of the Republican Presidential candidates who initially entered the contest. Unfortunately, the fatally flawed open-primary format in some of the early Sate primaries, and the un-holy alliance that Mike Huckabee struck with McCain, delivered McCain as the Republican candidate. McCain's lack of financial and business acumen, expressed discomfort with capitalists despite his belief in capitalism, somewhat irascible personality, tendency to speak before thinking, and lack of oratorical prowess, make him not a highly attractive candidate. However, his record of personal courage, integrity, love of country, energy, drive, willingness to not follow the assumed path, and history of working in a transparent manner for the American people, not only outweigh his own style weaknesses, but completely trump Senator Obama's media-hyped attributes.
As a result, I unabashedly endorse Senator John McCain for President. And yes, I do this despite his penchant for normalcy......
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