Academic

Powell Endorses Obama

By Christopher Bracey

In case you missed the interview this past weekend, watch Powell explain why he has chosen to endorse Obama.

Powell reminds us that there are indeed intelligent, thoughtful Republicans out there.  Too bad we don’t hear from more of them.  Powell is profiled in my recent book, Saviors or Sellouts — The Promise and Peril of Black Conservatism, from Booker T. Washington to Condoleezza Rice.  When I wrote the chapter in which he is discussed, I was profoundly moved by the sheer integrity of the man.  Listening to him discuss the current state of American politics in this interview further reinforced my views of him.

CNN reports that some political analysts have interpreted Powell’s endorsement of Obama a slap in the face of John McCain and the a rejection of the Republican Party more generally.  But I hear Powell saying something else — that America deserves real leadership during these difficult times, and that, in his view, Obama represents precisely this kind of leadership.   Or as Powell says himself,

It was in the period leading up to the conventions, and then the decisions that came out of the conventions, and then just sort of watching the responses of the two individuals on the economic crisis. It gave me an opportunity to evaluate their judgment, to evaluate their way of approaching a problem, to evaluate the steadiness of their actions. And it was at that point that I realized that, to my mind, anyway, that Sen. Obama has demonstrated the kind of calm, patient, intellectual, steady approach to problem-solving that I think we need in this country.

That said, I’m left wondering  . . . now that Powell has chosen to back Obama, what impact, if any, will the endorsement have upon the final strech of the campaign season and the election itself?

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Full post as published by BlackProf on October 20, 2008 (boomark / email).