« The NRA's Endorsement Still Pending | Main | Hotline TV: How The West Was Won »

July 01, 2008

On Call Exclusive: Obama Met Privately With Powell At His Office

Sen. Barack Obama and retired Gen. Colin Powell met privately two weeks ago in Powell's personal office in Alexandria.

Peggy Cifrino, Powell's spokeswoman, confirmed that the presumptive Democratic nominee and the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff chatted June 18, one-on-one for about an hour at the Armed Forces Benefit Association, where Powell rents space.

"Just an informal conversation," Cifrino told On Call.

"There’s no looming endorsement," she added. "They came to talk about issues."

Obama's campaign declined to comment.

Cifrino said that Powell and Sen. John McCain met the week prior in Arlington.

The blogosphere is abuzz with speculation that Powell could back the Democrat, a sign of his disaffection with the Republican Party and the Bush administration. The nod could, of course, also carry weight with voters concerned about Obama's lack of foreign policy experience. In poll after poll, the only consistent question in which McCain bests Obama is on the matter of who is best able to handle national security issues. A Powell endorsement of Obama would certainly be a blow to the Arizona senator's chief selling point -- that he is better prepared to be commander in chief.

Conservative columnist Robert Novak penned a piece June 26 in The Washington Post speculating that: "Powell probably will enter Obama's camp at a time of his own choosing." Later that day, in an apparent effort to counter Novak's suggestion, Juan Williams, NPR Senior Correspondent/FOX News Political Contributor, touted a McCain/Powell pairing.

The GOP is concerned, with good reason, about the impact Powell's endorsement would have on the presidential contest. Still, has Powell's cross-party appeal been tarnished by his support for the war? Would he help or hurt Obama with his base and more moderate voters who want their next president to withdraw from Iraq?

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Posted at 01:29 PM

Comments

I think Obama should select Powell as Secretary of Defense again. I think the General would love to re-make the military into what he worked so hard to do post Vietnam. He would bring our troops home on time and with great dignity along with Obama.

mb | 07.01.08 03:53 PM

Colin Powell is THE person who sold the Iraq war to the American public!

How the hell could his endorsement be anything but the kiss of death to a candidate?

Ted J. | 07.01.08 04:07 PM

"Peggy Cifrino, Powell's spokeswoman, confirmed that the presumptive Democratic nominee and the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff chatted June 18, one-on-one for about an hour at the Armed Forces Benefit Association, where Powell rents space."

I'd love to know the rate he pays. Anyone have an address on this organization and know the area's comperable rates?

I'm Am Curious Green | 07.01.08 04:08 PM

Ms. Skalka, please double check the use of affect v. effect. I beleve you wanted to use the word effect. Let's hope he will go with McCain.

P.R. | 07.01.08 04:10 PM

Colin Powell put his loyalty for the Republican party and the President above that of the US as a whole. Even I liked Colin Powell at the time, but after his time in the Bush administration I know him to be a true politician, and not the lofty moral person I thought he was.

I hope Obama doesn't use him in his administration, as we have a host of great military folks waiting in the sidelines: Wesley Clark, etc.

Al in SoCal | 07.01.08 04:10 PM

Ms. Skalka, please double check the use of affect v. effect. I beleve you wanted to use the word effect. Let's hope he will go with McCain.

P.R. | 07.01.08 04:11 PM

Colin Powell was never SecDef. He was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State, but never SecDef.

JG | 07.01.08 04:11 PM

Ms. Skalka, please double check the use of affect v. effect. I beleve you wanted to use the word effect. Let's hope he will go with McCain.

P.R. | 07.01.08 04:11 PM

Gen Clark and Gen McPeek arn't qualified to even make Gen Powell's coffee..

tankfixer | 07.01.08 04:15 PM

Ted - I couldn't agree MORE! He sold it and instead of quitting and taking his 'concerns' to the public he stayed and allowed this all to happen. For what - misguided loyalty?

Ted said "How the hell could his endorsement be anything but the kiss of death to a candidate?"

Al in SoCal | 07.01.08 04:16 PM

Powell was NOT the one to sell the war, he was lied to about WMDs by Bush and Rumsfeld. They knew Saddam was not close to making a nuclear device and that there was no connection between Saddam and Osama Bin Laden but lied to Powell. Just like they lied to us.

Powell left the administration over this deliberate set-up by the admin and their dismissive attitude toward Powell as he wasn't a party to their intentional dishonesty.

mr | 07.01.08 04:16 PM

Wesley Clark a great Military Man?
John McCain is a true American Hero, Clark is a weasel (no offense to weasels).

Hope, Change & Unity - Democrat platform

Mick B | 07.01.08 04:18 PM

Powell left the administration over this deliberate set-up by the admin and their dismissive attitude toward Powell as he wasn't a party to their intentional dishonesty.

mr | 07.01.08 04:18 PM

Al in SoCal: You mean the same Wesley Clark that President Clinton fired from the command of NATO?

MS | 07.01.08 04:21 PM

"I think Obama should select Powell as Secretary of Defense again."

"MB" apparently doesn't know that Colin Powell was NEVER Secretary of Defense. He was Secretary of State.

As Clinton's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff he was also the prime saboteur of Clinton's own efforts to allow openly gay soldiers to serve and was the biggest Administration cheerleader for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" before Clinton knuckled under on that issue.

SlayerOfDumasses | 07.01.08 04:22 PM

"I think the General would love to re-make the military into what he worked so hard to do post Vietnam. He would bring our troops home on time and with great dignity along with Obama."

Are you a moron? The military was all but dismantled during the 90's. I don't think the greatest reduction in our country's military strength, followed by the largest attack on US soil on 9/11, is something any of us want to re-create.

Not that I blame Mr. Powell for political decisions outside of his scope of power. I just want the mouth-breather that posted this comment to try and use that walnut sized brain to analyze that lack of a comment

JJ | 07.01.08 04:24 PM

Sorry about preivous SecDe. Bush and Cheney lied to Powell but regardless of that, Powell loves the military. They still love him. He will put everything he has into re-builing it.

mb | 07.01.08 04:24 PM

mr, when you say "Powell was NOT the one to sell the war, he was lied to about WMDs by Bush and Rumsfeld," fine; but please include the lies of both Clintons, every intelligence agency in the world, etc, etc...

ew | 07.01.08 04:25 PM

Clark seems to still be stumping for the Clintons (great timing for his distractive remarks while Obama was giving a great speech) who still hold the ambition that they will somehow still defeat Obama.

laurie | 07.01.08 04:25 PM

"I think the General would love to re-make the military into what he worked so hard to do post Vietnam. He would bring our troops home on time and with great dignity along with Obama."

JJ | 07.01.08 04:25 PM

laurie | 07.01.08 04:26 PM

Colin Powell is an honorable man. He left the Bush administration because Bush Chaney and the other cronies lied to him about the war. I think Powell will be an asset to Obama and I am hopeful that Powell will endorse Obama as well.

ginni | 07.01.08 04:30 PM

Obama - Powell ticket is the kiss of death to the GOP. Obama has a legitimate media cornination for the Presidency of the US.

McCain - Powell would blunt the media's love fest for Black anything, and Powell would be seen as a legitimate black man in his own right who came up through the ranks, and was not ill-annointed like Obama has been. McCain is a one-termer, thus Powell would be the heir apparent POTUS.

Let's hope the media's ill annointment of Hillary will carry over to their ill annoinment of Obama. I like Obama as a person, I just don't like his communistic views. He is NOT the guy for the job at this time, even if he is the best public speaker since Kennedy, maybe even better.

No Communists Please | 07.01.08 04:33 PM

mb,
He has never been SecDef...Chair, Joint Chiefs and Secretary of State. But no SecDef. He actually led the Joint Chiefs under SecDef Dick Cheney.
Just food for thought.

Dan T | 07.01.08 04:33 PM

If only General Powell had run for President in 1996, the Clintons would be long gone and nobody but Rev. Wright would have heard of Obama

Lorenzo | 07.01.08 04:36 PM

Are you a moron

1. "Not that I blame Powell for poltical.." I remember the way the military was belittled after Vietnam and i also remember the Dignity and respect they received after the 1st Gulf War. Powell was verly instrumntal in that.

2. Powell was not in the Clinton Admin in the 90

mb | 07.01.08 04:36 PM

You mean the same General Wesley Clark that nearly caused a world class incident with the Soviets over an airport in Bosnia?

ph | 07.01.08 04:45 PM

He asked him if he would be his VP!!!

Mark | 07.01.08 04:47 PM

Obama should select Colin Powell for his vice presidential choice. Not that's a hot ticket!

Liberation Man | 07.01.08 04:48 PM

RICE/POWELL FOR PRESIDENT...

Powell was the Joint Chiefs at the beginning of Bill Clintons presidency.

Shannon | 07.01.08 04:50 PM

Westley Clark is a punk and a Pundit no more!

Freegene | 07.01.08 04:51 PM

Powell should stay away from elected or appointed office. He has shown that he is not a politician and I mean that as a compliment. He was set up by Bush and Cheney and was in a constant battle with Rumsfeld whom I felt wanted to add his own "doctrine" of a highly mobile army to the military lexicon as a counter to Powell's doctrine of being the biggest SOB on the block. Consequently the army in Iraq were not as well equipped as they should have been. Besides if he endorses Obama he will just be criticised as supporting the black candidate.

PaulLee | 07.01.08 04:54 PM

Excuse me, those who claim that Powell was lied to.

Do you not remember all the reports? He was scouring the intelligence agencies with anything to take to the UN....down to very last moments.

So, to claim that Powell was lied to about WMD is complete and utter bull. Everything we possibly had was glued together for that presentation. They sent Powell and Tenet to lie to the world. If you couldn't see it written all over their faces, watch it again and slap yourself for not seeing the first time.

Gen Powell was lied to...geez!

No...Gen Powell was lying to you.

Karma | 07.01.08 04:55 PM

Ted, you are soooo full of BS. Powell is NOT 'the man' who sold this war to the American people. Bush, Cheney, Rove and Rumsfeld did with their "WMD's" they kept saying Iraq was a threat to the US. Iraq was not and has never been a threat to the U.S.

Ivar | 07.01.08 04:56 PM

Ivar | 07.01.08 04:57 PM

Just remember, when Clintoon said Iraq had WMDS, then that's the truth! When Bush says THE EXACT SAME THING, then it is a lie! Welcome to the idiotic world of democrats.

commielibs | 07.01.08 04:57 PM

Oh Palllllllllease!!!!! Powell didn't know he was lied to? He was the freakin Secretary of state, he was a top commander not some helpless little girl. "Oh me o my....it's not my fault they lied to me" Give me a break. Look I actually like the guy but he has got to take the responsiblity of selling out. He put on a dog and pony show at the UN that turned public opinion to allow this war to go forward. He lost his credibility because of his own actions that HE NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBLITY FOR> WHO WOULD BELIVE HIM NOW! not me.

kara | 07.01.08 04:58 PM

If Y'all vote for Obama's "Change" - thats all youre gonna have left in your pockets...if that.

U'Suka Midik | 07.01.08 05:01 PM

Yawn.... Boring... just polictics as usual..Two camps playing it up big time.... I doubt that Colin Powell has any desire to jump into the frying pan again. He makes big bucks as a public speaker and has no pressure on him. The fact is neither Obama or Mccain has what it takes to make the right changes... We "America and Americans" are in bigger trouble than most people care to know about... and this is why we are a "ONCE WAS" rather than a Leading Nation.
Do you think that as long as we have guys who can afford 5,6,7 bucks a gallon for gas running our country we are going to see change....NOT....
"Houston Apollo 13 we have a problem!"

Dave | 07.01.08 05:03 PM

If Obama wins the Presidency, he should consider John McCain as his Secretary of Defense. That would make a positive statement that this is going to be an administration that works on both sides of the isle, and calm the nerves of many Republicans.

I find it an interesting suggestion!

Bill | 07.01.08 05:09 PM

I find it an interesting suggestion!

Bill | 07.01.08 05:09 PM

I find it an interesting suggestion!

Bill | 07.01.08 05:10 PM

It is not the moderates among us who want us to surrender in Iraq, it is the left wing nuts. These are the same people who believe that the only reason we have not been attacked since 9/11 is the benevolence of bin Laden and his ilk. Certainly it can't be anything that this administration has done.

Gen. Powell met with Senator Obama? Big deal. The article makes it clear that he also met with Senator McCain.

Gen. Powell commands a lot of respect among intelligent Americans. If he wants to join Senator Obama's campaign, I support his right to do so.

Conservative Democrat | 07.01.08 05:10 PM

Me thinks deez candidates are not so candid.
Big important people talking to other big important people is not so shocking.
Is not so newsworthy.

hey zeus | 07.01.08 05:10 PM

I find it an interesting suggestion!

Bill | 07.01.08 05:11 PM

Senator Obama and Senator McCain have one thing in common. Both have shown a willingness to go against their party when they believe their party's position is too conservative.

That has led Senator McCain to reach across the aisle on many occasions; Senator Obama has shown no willingness to reach across party lines. Unless, of course, you consider reaching out to Bernie Sanders, a Socialist, as reaching across party lines...

Conservative Democrat | 07.01.08 05:16 PM

Once Powell lied to the UN and the world regarding the weapons in Iraq (his own State Department knew there were no weapons, but he lied anyway) his career is over... and his coming aboard any campaign has little weight, even worse to be part of Obama's cabinet...

jthomas | 07.01.08 05:17 PM

Powell is the ultimate insider and could not have been mislead by anyone unless he wanted to be mislead.

Powell would be a great choice for Obama; both are liberal on 90+% of the issues and it is well documented and know by most of the east and west coast thinkers.

Powell will not play second fiddle to someone who doesn't have the experience or balls to hold his jockstrap, nor whould he. Powell may be up for Sec of State again but I doubt it. He is currently up for making as much money as possible!

William | 07.01.08 05:17 PM

Sorry pinkos, but Obama isn't going to bring the troops home from Iraq. Saudi Arabia and Israel won't allow it.

Dream all you want, but we are firmly entrenched between Iran and the rest of the Middle East and have no reason to leave until every last drop of oil has been pulled out of the ground.

Josh | 07.01.08 05:26 PM

There are several ways to tell that you are not talking to a rational person. Among those ways is when someone takes the position that President Bush lied about WMD in Iraq.

It is a nonsensical position.

Conservative Democrat | 07.01.08 05:35 PM

Powell Lied and over 4000 died. Powell can and I hope he does rot in Hell for his despicable lies to the UN. I hope he can sleep well at night knowing he has blood on his hands.

chew | 07.01.08 05:35 PM

Powell Lied and over 4000 died. Powell can and I hope he does rot in Hell for his despicable lies to the UN. I hope he can sleep well at night knowing he has blood on his hands.

chew | 07.01.08 05:36 PM

It is considered improper for a former 4-star general, much less the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to become Secretary of Defense. General Clark started out well, as Valedictorian at West Point. He graduated in '66 but spent 66-68 at Oxford U. in England. He didn't go into the field in Viet Nam until 1970, and was wounded in his first month. He was never was in combat again. Once he became a general, he seemed to fail upward, until President Clinton, "rotated him out" into retirement.

Sam | 07.01.08 05:41 PM

It's hard to trust the endorsement of someone who has been promised a job. It's too much like a bribe.

Mike | 07.01.08 05:50 PM

Some of you would like to see Colin Powell as Obama's choice for VP. Just brilliant. They should hire you on Fox News, or MSNBC, or CNN. You'd be perfect for such a role. It won't happen; Obama will never in his wildest dreams pick Powell. Colin Powell has a significant national stature as a result of a long career of government service. He would overshadow Obama, who is far to egocentric to allow that to happen. Second, you may have noticed that Colin Powell is black. What odds do you give a ticket with two black men?

Tom in CA | 07.01.08 06:03 PM

AL in socal, Obviously you have never worked for Wesley Clark. He would ruin his mothers career if it made him look good. He will do the same to Obama. He reminds me of Lyndon Johnson. You can bet he would saw the legs off of Obamas chair so that he would have to look up at him. He has already took the wind out of Obamas anticipated great pride in our warriors speech and turned it into damage control. I think Wesley Clark has slammed the door on his dream of being vice president

Amos | 07.01.08 06:07 PM

You can always tell when someone is absolutely clueless when they think that Shrub did not lie about WMDs in Iraq.

dswx | 07.01.08 06:08 PM

Powell will endorse Obama, period, because of his race. Even well known black conservatives are mulling to vote for Obama. This is the reality of this country. On election day, 95% of the blacks will vote for Obama and 60% of the Whites will go for McCain. In other words, Obama will the President of the Black United States. Powell had his chance to be the first black president of THE UNITED STATES in 1996 but he didn't pull the trigger. He has more than enough qualification to be the president unlike Barack's current resume. Community Organizer, LOL, what the hell is that, the guy who walk the street and pass out fliers or put up posters...how many yrs he was in the Illinois house - what exactly he had done there...he was in the senate for a yr before planning on the run of the Presidency. The election of Powell as the first black president of the United States would not be questioned by any about his qualification...as for Barack, he proves affirmative action works at the highest office of the land as well...and yeah he will never get the majority of Whites to vote for him..not now, not ever.

Mika | 07.01.08 06:12 PM

The last thing Barry Hussein needs is the endorsement of a weak willed willy that allowed the Iraq invasion to take place even though he knew it would result in the quagmire we have today.

Too Loyal | 07.01.08 06:14 PM

The last thing Barry Hussein needs is the endorsement of a weak willed willy that allowed the Iraq invasion to take place even though he knew it would result in the quagmire we have today.

Too Loyal | 07.01.08 06:15 PM

The last thing Barry Hussein needs is the endorsement of a weak willed willy that allowed the Iraq invasion to take place even though he knew it would result in the quagmire we have today.

Too Loyal | 07.01.08 06:15 PM

Powell's Saudi connection guarantees he will not run with Obama period! Obama would be hard pressed to explain having a man who had a strong financial and personal relationship with the Saudis endorsing him or running on the same ticket. On the other hand, miracles do happen and maybe all the coke he snorted while McCain was being tortured by Vietnamese has fried his brain!

amtr | 07.01.08 06:26 PM

amtr | 07.01.08 06:27 PM

What a wealth of brain cells contributing to this site. You folks should get back to learning your multiplication facts.

Marcy | 07.01.08 06:29 PM

If Powell endorses Obama the media will forget all they said about his tenure in the Bush administration. He will be once again one of their darlings because they will try to max out anything for their chosen Messiah of liberalism, Obama.
I think someone might notice the media's mendacity in this effort. How much more loss of impartial credibility can the media endure?

Jake Bello | 07.01.08 06:34 PM

Colin Powell is not a conservative. He was a token Black appointee.
This election is all about race....period and the Demo-Commie's use of Racist Card to styme free choice.

pg | 07.01.08 06:39 PM

Re: Barry Obama choosing Colin POwel as his running mate: two blacks on the same ticket, you've gotta be kidding!

retrometa | 07.01.08 06:43 PM

Mika,
Well said!

daryl | 07.01.08 06:45 PM

Don't forget that it was Powell that told Geo. Bush Sr. to stop the first gulf war early, and are we paying dearly for that bad advice.

Kuffar | 07.01.08 06:56 PM

Why did Powell accept the WMD information he'd been given, without apparent question, without having his own independent sources and experts check it out. Did he really trust the administration so completely? if so, his touted intelligence is suspect, or else he just didn't care if it was true or not, as he'd bought into the desire for war for oil.

If Powell was truly a man of integrity, he would have quit the Bush administration the second he realized he'd been duped by the Bush White cronies .... and he'd have told the public why. His long standing silence showed me he was just another team player without conscience, and in fact, at heart, a coward.

No image from the Iraq war is more vivid than him on TV with his doctored reconnaissance photos and diagrams, selling the necessity of the war to the public.

Sunny Dayz | 07.01.08 06:57 PM

Oh, yes. Colin Powell can rebuild the miltary so that BO can pull out of Iraq and use the army for humanitarian missions under UN command and we can all spread out legs for al qeda. Whoopee!!! I;m so looking forward to 4 years of pain which we will never recover from.

Clem | 07.01.08 07:17 PM

If Colin Powell picks McCain you might as well close the RNC national office and put a sign in the window "Gone fishing".Right wing,left wing ---they all respect CP.

Peter Larsen | 07.01.08 07:18 PM

I love how every debate on Iraq turns to did he or didn't he have the WMDs. We should all remember that Saddam was tried and killed for using WMDs on his own people. It's also well documented that he used them in the Iran/Iraq 10 year war. So, it's not a question of did he or didn't he. The US, under the direction Billy Boy Clinton, fooled around with him so long that he had plenty of time get rid of the WMDs. They will turn up, I just hope it's not in this country. If you want to debate the evidence and how it may have been faulty, that is valid. To continue to insist that lies were made is talking out of school. If you debate the evidence you need to consider what happened to the intellectual capability of the US under Bill Clinton as well. Iraq is not a cluster, we are making plenty of real good progress, that is why the news outlets are not airing anything on it. The only place you hear about how "bad" it is is on websites like this. Finally the citizens realize they are responsible for their country and they are turning in the bad guys faster than we can kill them.

God Bless the USA

Stantheman | 07.01.08 07:20 PM

We've got some bright Obama supporters here--notably "nb" who said Obama should make Powell the "Secretary of Defense again".

Powell has never been Secretary of Defense, you 'tard.

Diomedon | 07.01.08 07:20 PM

We've got some bright Obama supporters here--notably "mb" who said Obama should make Powell the "Secretary of Defense again".

Powell has never been Secretary of Defense, you 'tard.

Diomedon | 07.01.08 07:21 PM

Bring the troops home now!

Ted | 07.01.08 07:23 PM

One question for Barack Obama...

When you meet with that mad man in charge of Iraq, what are you going to say to him to convince him to give up his nuclear weapon ambitions and to quit saying "Isreal will soon be blown off the map"? I am sure a man with your experience, BO, will be able to talk some sense into this guy. He's seems like such a reasonable guy, doesn't he?

Barack, baby, you're going to have to answer for that... In my opinion, your position on the war and your willingness to meet with deranged lunatics as opposed to our generals on the ground will cost you the election.

Thank you.

Stantheman | 07.01.08 07:29 PM

This crap about who lied to whom is getting worse than old and stale. The Clinton Administration also thought that Saddam was rebuilding his WMD capacity. So did *every* intelligence agency in the world.

Nobody willfully lied to anyone. It was a serious case of bad intelligence, *worldwide*. It wasn't just the US who thought he had active WMD programs.

There are plenty of reasons to legitimately bash the Bush Admistration (rampant spending comes to mind). Those who cling to 'he lied' arguments, however, just show their massive ignorance.

Tom | 07.01.08 07:37 PM

A V.P. offer?

Americanidle | 07.01.08 07:43 PM

Obama want to make sure McCain does not draft Powell as VP

markjsand | 07.01.08 07:45 PM

Stantheman,

Do you believe the Bush position of not talking to anyone has worked? The situation in N Korea was defused because the administration dealt with the problem rather than ignore it. Iran is more powerful and more aggressive now as a result of our failed foreign policy. Even Reagan negotiated with the Soviets and with Iran. In fact, if I recall, Reagan sold them weapons. The axis of evil crap Bush started is the biggest foreign policy mistake in US history. If you do not believe me, most of Reagan's former cabinet members agree with my position.

P.S. We are in charge of Iraq

Tom | 07.01.08 07:50 PM

Ms. Shalka correctly used 'disaffection.' The notorious republican persona is displayed in full character here.

Eric | 07.01.08 07:54 PM

Oh, for God's sake. McCain met with Powell too a couple of weeks ago. This article made no mention of that. They want it to look like Powell is interested. He would be a fool to jump on the Messiah's bandwagon. NO EXPERIENCE! Don't you people get it!

Susan I | 07.01.08 07:56 PM

Susan I | 07.01.08 07:58 PM

Powell has no particular principles, so he'd make a great 'credibility' vice president -- and he's all black, so that'd be okay too ... go Obama, show all the whites what it's like to sit at the back of the bus for the next eight years and watch the radical blacks take over the judiciary and the government bureaucracy ... complacent Republicans and guilt-ridden white Democrats deserve what they will get in the years ahead if McCain doesn't step up and quit courting liberal votes which he will never get -- or is 12 million new illegal immigrant voters/citizens just the start of eliminating the border with Mexico so we can be just one big 'north american' family ruled by our 10-12% black population

Jack Wilson | 07.01.08 08:00 PM

McLean, Virginia -- If Senator Barack Obama accepts the endorsement of Gen. Colin Powell, he will lose many votes -- including my own.

Paul Matthews

Paul Matthews | 07.01.08 08:06 PM

McCain wont be the nominee. He has incipient Alzheimer's, and when the Republican insiders tire of his incompetent campaign they will have him tested. Huckabee/Romney will win.

bruce becker | 07.01.08 08:07 PM

If Bush was so dumb , how was he able to fool the brightest minds in Washington over this WMD issue ? Powell , Clinton , Kerry , you name it . He fooled them all ? Which is it ? Dumb , or brilliant ? Be careful how you answer .

Dan | 07.01.08 08:13 PM

Some thoughts on the above:

Saddam never used WMDs on his own people. His "people" are Sunnis. You have to understand this fact in order to understand why you cannot strategize about the Middle East in Western terms. The current administration is unsophisticated and naive. Those borders are British, and these people think in terms of tribes.

The consensus was that Saddam had WMDs, yes, but Bush refused to allow the UN inspectors to finish their work and rushed us into the war. If you read the 1998 diatribe signed by the Neocons (including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz) calling for war with Iraq to remake the Middle East, it all makes sense. Bush was duped, and in turn, he duped us.

Powell was fired by the Bush Administration. Still, he will spend the rest of his life re-polishing his image. He went from being the most trusted man in the world to a tool of President Bush.

Obama will not meet with the current president of Iran (Ahmadinejad) because he will have already been replaced by the Iranians by the time Obama takes office.

Obama's position on the war is the same as the vast majority of the American people.

Our surge is working to quell the violence and our bribes are working to quell the tribal leaders, but the political situation remains the same disaster it has been from the start.

Powell will endorse Obama before November.

Alexander | 07.01.08 08:21 PM

mb - Obama would have to be elected President for that to happen which is highly unlikely. Obama is in way over his head and may wish to apply for a mayor's assistant job somewhere. he's still wet behind his ears and really needs to accomplish at least something in his life before seeking the nation's highest job.

jon samuel | 07.01.08 08:21 PM

Hey, SlayerOfDumasses

John M. Shalikashvili is a name that comes to mind as having been chairman of joint chiefs of staff from 1993-1997. That does not leave much room for Powell to have been in that post during Clinton?

It's OK for BO to "talk" with Powell so long as he does not appoint him to anything.

alfredo | 07.01.08 08:31 PM

Colin Powell was the sacrificial goat for Bush/Cheney. He was against the war, and was being a good soldier by trying to follow the orders of his CIC.

It was only because of Colin Powell that the US even bothered to go to the UN before the invasion.
Our government gave him the 'yellowcake' and tubes info, and let him swing in the wind afterwards, by defying the decision of the UN.

Colin Powell is an extremely patriotic American whose party left him, not the other way around.

He would be an Excellent Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State.

Rickster in Gulfport, FL | 07.01.08 08:34 PM

Hey Stantheman:

Get your s**t straight! Iran - not Iraq!

David | 07.01.08 08:34 PM

Colin Powell was the sacrificial goat for Bush/Cheney. He was against the war, and was being a good soldier by trying to follow the orders of his CIC.

Colin Powell is an extremely patriotic American whose party left him, not the other way around.

He would be an Excellent Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State.

Rickster in Gulfport, FL | 07.01.08 08:35 PM

Dear Senator Obama,

Congratulations on your presumptive victory as the Democratic Nominee. I am indeed impressed with the American people for siding with an intelligent and groundbreaking candidate despite the skin-deep distortions. Nevertheless, you have demonstrated your character and authenticated your platform of change by running a respectful campaign. You have made the first step towards giving the power back to the people with your refusal to be bought by Federal Lobbyist and rather to fund a majority of your campaign with donations from the people. Mr. Senator you have managed to elucidate the voice and commonsense of the people we all share and the record turnout speaks to that. You have pointed to the root of the issues and refused to pander to the people with silly gas holidays and war rhetoric.

I am a Republican, I did not know you, I had no real opinion of you, and never heard of you until you defeated a man I admired, and still admire today. You have clenched my interest but my support is not solidified, as are the many Republicans in my party that support you. As it stands, from a strategic point of view, the race will be won with the VP. Republicans and Democrats alike are waiting for the reason, the reason to solidify their vote. That is the key to victory a strong VP that will sure up uncertainties voters may have about you –

Speaking as an American and one who cares about this country and the welfare of its citizens, I strongly believe that your choice of the VP stands to be the most influential of all the potential candidates. Influential in a good and bad sense you can win or lose it with this choice. Yes you can.

I believe succumbing to the pressures to pick an individual that would “sure up” the votes from rural white males or individuals of certain demographic is a trap and a sure way to lose and I believe that it will also have political consequences that we cannot fathom. Choose unity, show bipartisanship, show honesty, show integrity, and most of show security. THE ONLY PERSON THAT CAN SUCCESSFULLY fulfill that role is COLIN POWELL. He is the only person that will take the FIGHT out of the McCain strategy, unify the country, and balance the senate with a non-partisan, non-bickering, politically hungry individual that is accountable to the people not your interest. COLIN POWELL as VP will attract more votes and offset the “demographic that were Hillary supporters or independents that will not support you – whatever the reason – and can possibility make insignificant that demographic. Americans both Dem, Rep and others alike love and respect Colin Powell and has service to this country speaks for itself. Republicans will come and they will cast a vote in your favor with an individual like him in your corner.

This combination is the only way you can enact meaningful change, return credibility to leadership, and most importantly the idea that the common patriot, who is willing to work, and has a bright vision for this country need not have 30 years of experience in office, be a business owner or a former governor but rather a natural born citizen of 35 years in good standing can run, for president and succeed. This is the power of the people. Too long the people have been kept out of the deal. OBAMA-POWELL ’08 unity goes beyond the party.

Concerned Republican | 07.01.08 08:38 PM

Where are the comments regarding the fact the Black Americans are lining up to support Obama just for the color of his skin? How is this fact not racist? How can someone such as Colin Powell support a Socialist like Sen. Obama? It is a forgone conclusion that the State of Georgia will vote for Obama due to the large black community. What if it was a "forgone" conclusion that Vermont was voting for McCain due to the lack of a black population?

citizenx | 07.01.08 08:45 PM

Re: Dan

Bush was able to 'able to fool the brightest minds in Washington' because he was The President, and generally, The President is given the benefit of the doubt.

Looking back, as we find out more and more, how they 'cherry picked' the information, and had no exit plan, can we now realize the real reason for the war in Iraq has not been revealed to us by our government.

It appears to most of the US and the world, that it was a personal vendetta of a man in the highest office in the world.

He has made sure future President's will not have the same latitude as this one had.

Iraq held Iran in check, we removed that, and in so doing, destabilized an area that teeters on the brink of war, daily.

Was Saddam a bad guy? Yes, but so is Kim Jong Il, Raul Castro, Hugo Chavez, etc...

This has the appearance of the CIC using the military for a personal payback, not a legitimate action to DEFEND America.

Rickster in Gulfport, FL | 07.01.08 08:45 PM

If you believe that Bush & Co. sold Iraq to the nation maybe you're right. The question is where was Congress? Everyone on the Hill is to blame if you consider Iraq a mistake.

Congress has the duty to oversee, consent and advise the executive and they went along with the war, lied to or not.

As for Clark, what a sack of crap. It was the same Clark who touted Kerry's military experience as qualification for the presidency.

cg | 07.01.08 08:57 PM

Re Concerned Republican.

Nice, well thought out post, I enjoyed reading it.

I know that I would vote for an Obama/Powell ticket in a second, but I always felt John Edwards was the guy for him.

Edwards has the legal 'know-how' to help Obama's vision for America have a fighting chance.

Most likely, he will have 2 years of a Democratic Congress to work with, I know so many R's that are so fed up with Bush, they are leaving the GOP.

Hopefully he can effect some big change on multiple fronts.

Flip these Dracanoian Drug Laws, empty out the prisons, legalize, regulate and tax.

All the PD and DEA people will try to tell you it will be the end of the world.
It will only be the end of their jobs.

After 35 years, its time to take a different course in this 'War on Drugs'.
The right's toughlove approach have brought us to a point where our Judiciary is overloaded and underfunded.

Release non-violent drug offenders, make it the medical issue that it is.

Every night drunk people drive home and throw cigarette butts out of their car windows, 'they' are 'addicts', too....

Rickster in Gulfport, FL | 07.01.08 08:58 PM

Nothing convinces me that this country is hopelessly screwed more than reading the moronic comments on political articles like this one.

Tougeaux | 07.01.08 09:36 PM

If Obama is president, he should appoint McCain to be secretary of flip flopping.

All Facts Support My Positio | 07.01.08 09:46 PM

The average American; which is most people not the few million in the Move On camp would welcome a Powell endorsement.

American Man, ABQ | 07.01.08 09:48 PM

How does Colin Powell's endorsement help Obama? Would this be a great surprise? I am trying to understand this.

Dumbfounded | 07.01.08 09:50 PM

HELLO...How does Colin Powell's endorsement help Obama? Would this be a great surprise? I am trying to understand this.

Dumbfounded | 07.01.08 09:52 PM

Powell did not have the courage to stand up to his wife's fears of assassination and so run for President. He did not have the courage to take a stand against the war in Iraq by resigning; instead he tried to slow-walk the war; and he declined to make a real State Department contribution to the war effort in Iraq, as the Democratic Senator McCaskill from Missouri said during the Patraeus hearings. He is in line with the CIA members who leaked anti-Bush materials before the 2004 election and laughed that they would thereby defeat Bush: Powell did his own undermining, starting with staying. He said previously that he had advised and was willing to advise Obama during the campaign (and was willing to advise others). One gets also a faint whiff of racism, favoritism towards Obama based simply on skin color. After all, he and McCain hardly seem that separated on their general approach, including distance from President Bush.

Richard L.A. Schaefer | 07.01.08 09:58 PM

On balance it probably helps because, from the above comments, you can see that quite a lot of people still respect Powell - that may be as unbelievable to you as it is to me but I think it would be more of a plus than a minus - with the bonus that he has crossed over to the Democrats.

And, by the way, of course he didn't believe the lies Rummy and Dick told him - he may not be that swift but he has eyes in his head and isn't that much of a dummy! He is just a politician as somebody said.

gridpipethynne | 07.01.08 10:05 PM

Anyone who can call Wes Clark a "Great Military Leader" doesn't understand the definition of "Great" or "Leader". The guy, and was, a Politically Correct flunky at the time when Mr Clinton, Mrs Clinton and Mrs Schroder tore the military a new one, ruined moral and made a mockery of the entire Military establishment that men like Powell spend years building.

Paul | 07.01.08 10:16 PM

The military was reduced in size under GHW Bush and Clinton administrations. This occured in response to ending of the Cold War. The Army went from 16 active divisions to 10. Air Force and Navy had similar reductions. This was, at the time, bipartisian.

Intelligence was wrong on Iraq. This shouldn't be a big surprise, as intelligence is nearly always wrong. It is easy to fool intelligence gatherers, especially if it is a national policy to hide a fact. Saddam wanted to hide his shortage of WMDs from his neighbors, so he played a shell game with the inspectors, putting many buildings off limits, bribing inspectors (Scott Ritter call your office) to reveal where the next inspections were going to be, delaying the inspectors while equipment was removed.

The fact is, Iraqi intelligence stole Kuwaitti passports during their occupation, and provided them to terrorists along with cyanide compounds in an attempt to unleash WMDs in the US. This was in connection with the 1993 WTC bombing, which also received funding from Al Queda.

That, under a president less feckless than Clinton, (or perhaps Carter) would have been by itself cause for war.

Don Meaker | 07.01.08 10:32 PM

I think if you believe what the people say when the times are better than most, you will feel the wrath of those whom the pundits say will eat crawfish. Don't get me wrong, strong arms are the way of the noggin suckers, but they will never eat shorts. Understand what I'm saying?

jason | 07.01.08 10:42 PM

Colin Powell is back-stabbing W. Go figure...

Don Moore | 07.01.08 10:54 PM

Funny to hear all the neo cons on here dismantling Powell. A Repulican questioning someone's patriotism? never. Please! Cowell got lied to by Cheney just like the world did. As a good soldier, with trust in his gov't, he did his job and did it well...just as Cheney and Bush knew he would. He is a patriot, Republican or Democrat and deserves our respect and admoration...what have you done for your country that was sooo great?

ryan | 07.01.08 10:57 PM

ryan | 07.01.08 10:58 PM

Main Entry: rac·ism
Pronunciation: \ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm
Function: noun
Date: 1933
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

YEP... LOOKS LIKE RACE OVER IDEOLOGY TO ME.

Gordito Mojito | 07.01.08 10:59 PM

YEP... LOOKS LIKE RACE OVER IDEOLOGY TO ME.

Gordito Mojito | 07.01.08 11:00 PM

Wow, I think I have found the lowest point of the Internet, as measured in fathoms of misinformed and factually inaccurate contributions to the discussion. I would erect a plaque but I'm sure it goes deeper and gets more oxygen deprived the further you go to the right from here.

It is clear from some of the comments that 40 years of the dumbing down of education and establishment of a corporate media has made your democracy 100% idiot-proof, except I don't think that word means what you think it means. I'm starting to lose faith in my belief that what's right with America can eventually fix what's wrong with America. The ill-informed and factually inaccurate hot-air coming from the right is simply astounding, it's not true, not even the third time the same comment is posted. A citizen who pays only a passing interest in current affairs in the US doesn't stand a chance of making an informed vote. Yes, that must be Bill Clinton's fault, as is everything else apparently. At least under Clinton your country wasn't a complete laughing stock.

God help you.

Thorson Welles | 07.01.08 11:10 PM

Powell was just Bush' mouthpiece, as far as being "the" one to sell the war in Iraq. Once he could no longer stomach Bush' lies in what Powell knew to be an unjust war, he left the administration, for the waiting arms of an overly ambitious Rice.

sheribaby | 07.01.08 11:11 PM

The liberals on this site are a hoot. True ignorance and naivete. Liberals are the scourge of America.

The naive liberal of the USA continues to get Real Americans screwed financially with the GW farce and killed by inaction. (clintons supposed police actions like the bombing of the Cole, the first WTC, etc. was put on us by Clintons inaction on this and getting osama, when he had the chance).

Jack Kennedy | 07.01.08 11:13 PM

Obama is a radical, Muslim-loving, white-hating, leftist big-eared piece of crap, and "Colon" Powell is a two-faced piece of crap too. They can both go to hell (which is where the US would go if that loser were to be elected).

John | 07.01.08 11:23 PM

Powell did NOT sell the war!
Perhaps all of you have been quick
to forget his warning before we entered Iraq.
Remember the quote that will be remembered as the voice of reason.
That quote was
"It's like Pottery Barn....You broke it,
YOU BOUGHT IT"
That's just what the taxpayer has unwittingly bought!
That and a more expensive barrel of oil from a destabilized Iraq and a pathetic policy by the worthless Federal Reserve that should be DISSOLVED!!

Parm | 07.01.08 11:24 PM

When a person brings up the word "lie" it is easy to see they are a Democrat and probable a socialist conspiracy theorist. Saddam had WMD. Bush#1 and Rumsfeld both said they sold them to Saddam in the 1980's and helped him to develop them through 1988.Many pieces of WMD were found, but they were not items that were assembled or previously tagged by the UN WMD Inspectors. These components were not considered WMD because they were only parts of the whole and not previously known about and the "WMD" Bush was talking about were the items previously identified by inspectors between 1992 and 1998. DEmocrats fail to ever look at the facts of history and choose to blindly follow the talking points of the DNC regardless if they are accurate or not. This is just like those lemming that blindly followed Bush.

BigSalmon | 07.01.08 11:28 PM

You anti-war Bush lied people are pathetic. Bad intel believed by EVERYONE is not a lie. Hellooooo????

John | 07.01.08 11:44 PM

As I recall, Powell at the UN was not about Nuclear WMD, but Chemical WMD. The Bush Admin never claimed Iraq had an active nuclear program, in fact saying many times the opposite. Many very large caches of those were in fact found in Iraq.
As for Wesley Clark, he's just running for Vice President. Again.

PA Observer | 07.01.08 11:56 PM

No, Powell doesn't hurt. He isn't a chickenhawk masturbator like cheney or the shrub nor is he an senile incompetent who wouldn't have had the chance to get shot down but for his daddy's pull - like McCain...

That's all the Repigs are: the remnants of daddy's pull. Powell should cop and change parties. No real soldier should be a repig.

Playin Possum | 07.01.08 11:57 PM

If you look at things rationally, what qualifies Obama to be the president of the United States. He was a community organizer? What the heck is that anyway?

You would think that we were voting for high school president. That's were the voters go for the handsome guy that makes the nice speech.

Are we that dumb? The answer may be yes.

steve | 07.02.08 12:00 AM

A Powell defection to Obama's side would effectuate
my (an Independent, single, white, moderately conservate) switch to voting for Obama. That being said, I almost completely ignore the rhetoric from either side because I do not think they can get the extreme legislation passed in a 'do nothing Congress.'

joseph | 07.02.08 12:07 AM

Conservative Democrat, you don't sound like a Democrat at all; stop hiding yourself behind the anonymity of the boards! It is not nonsensical to talk of Bush lying about WMDs in Iraq. he husehed every intelligence report that contradicted that; and, there were no WMDs. Also five major oil companies have bids for the oil there now, in the aftermath of OperationIraqiLiberation(OIL). Coincidence?
mika, daryl, and pg, you guys are racists! And Jack Wilson, of course any black who refuses to sit at the back of the bus MUST be trying to force whites there and must be radical. What are you so afraid of? No black could ever run, for people who think like you guys do, without their race being a issue. If they do well, they oppressed free speech against detractors from their campaigns and played the "race card" or won by affirmative action or tapping into white guilt (who, of course, have nothing to feel guilty about). If they fail, it has nothing whatsoever to do with a country that still has Klan in it, voting against them because of color; it'll be because they utterly weren't qualified. All progress any black makes is because it was given to him by some whites or stolen by him from some whites. In that catch 22, blacks will never be qualified. You're still espousubg some theory of superiority or ownership of this country that is exclusive to minorities. Why are you so racist? We can have centuries of unqualified white presdidents and that's okay. They're entitled because they're white. Since when? But no minority better dare to aspire to the highest office of the land because blacks only make up 12% of the population, no matter how good they may be! Their best is still worse than your worst, right? This country is made up of more than whites and they weren't the original inhabitants even. Go sell your racist bs to the Native Americans!
Susan I, I hate to tell you this, but the article DID mention that McCain visted with Powell on June 14th before Obama did on the 18th. And, actually, being in the Senate bubble for the eons that McCain was, is not as hands on "experienced" as the lower senate (state) Senate experience of Obama (more akin to gubernatorial experience, besides the three years of U.S. Senate experience); and, being a community organizer is more than just handing out fliers! This ceratinly implies being more in touch with average people, to me.
Richard L.A. Schaefer, that's probably why Powell talked to both. Why must it be racist for him to talk to Obama? Because Obama's black? Why do you only see color? Boy, Obama's candidacy sure is scaring the covert racism out of so many!

sheribaby | 07.02.08 12:18 AM

How about the overpaid private contractors working for the pentagon on my dime?
Why should they make 2-3 times what an enlisted man gets paid? Is it patriotic to outsource defense jobs?? Or is it patriotic to question a company like Blackwater who does work for the country of Jordan while also working for th U.S.A.

Parm | 07.02.08 12:27 AM

Colin Powell is BLACK.
Obama IS Black.

Ivanna Sack | 07.02.08 12:38 AM

John, apparently it wasn't believed by "everyone."
And bad intel certainly isn't the truth. And what is it about Obama that "loves muslims"? Their community doesn't seem to think so. They feel they've been slighted by him. But, hey, if white people want to keep saying that his name says it all, then who are we to question the actual muslim community in America? lol And those white people he "hates" would include his own mother and maternal grandparents, and by genotype, halfway himself, too, right?
BigSalmon, then what are we all talking about when we say that he didn't have them? The war continuing there would be a nonissue, rather than a dividing talking point in America. What the hell is Bush himself talking about now when he says that he can't believe his intelligence was so "faulty"? It's obvoius that the truth lies with the fact that Saddam hussein did NOT in fact have WMDs. The question is, given the deep pockets for oil for both Bush and Cheney, and the oil dealings with the Bushes and the bin Ladens (ever wonder why he hasn't been "found" yet?), and now, the five major oil companies with contracts for the oil in Iraq, was that misinformation intentional or not?
Jack Kennedy, you are so right. Nothing at all like how good the Republicans have been to America over the past decade!

sheribaby | 07.02.08 12:38 AM

Colin Powell is BLACK.
Obama IS Black.

Ivanna Sack | 07.02.08 12:38 AM

Colin Powell is BLACK.
Obama IS Black.

Ivanna Sack | 07.02.08 12:39 AM

Ivanna Sack
Your banter is WHACK?
Take off your sunglasses wigger

Parm | 07.02.08 12:42 AM

Ivanna Sack, and McCain with whom Powell met the week before is Repub. Powell is Repub. Your point?

sheribaby | 07.02.08 12:45 AM

Sorry folks, life is not like a video game. You can't keep hitting the reset button until you figure out how to beat the enemy. Life is nothing but trail and error.

RS | 07.02.08 12:58 AM

THE PRESIDENT mulls a strike against Iraq, which he calls an "outlaw nation" in league with an "unholy axis of terrorists, drug traffickers and organized international criminals." The talk among world leaders, however, focuses on diplomacy. France, Russia, China, and most Arab nations oppose military action. The Saudis balk at giving us overflight rights. U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan prepares a last-ditch attempt to convince Saddam Hussein to abide by the U.N. resolutions he agreed to at the end of the Gulf War.

Administration rhetoric could hardly be stronger. The president asks the nation to consider this question: What if Saddam Hussein

"fails to comply, and we fail to act, or we take some ambiguous third route which gives him yet more opportunities to develop his program of weapons of mass destruction and continue to press for the release of the sanctions and continue to ignore the solemn commitments that he made? Well, he will conclude that the international community has lost its will. He will then conclude that he can go right on and do more to rebuild an arsenal of devastating destruction."

The president's warnings are firm. "If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow." The stakes, he says, could not be higher. "Some day, some way, I guarantee you, he'll use the arsenal."

These are the words not of President George W. Bush in September 2002 but of President Bill Clinton on February 18, 1998. Clinton was speaking at
the Pentagon, after the Joint Chiefs and other top national security advisers had briefed him on U.S. military readiness. The televised speech followed a month-long build-up of U.S. troops and equipment in the Persian Gulf. And it won applause from leading Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Bill Clinton | 07.02.08 01:06 AM

Matters looked different in 1998, when Democrats were working with a president of their own party. Daschle not only supported military action against Iraq, he campaigned vigorously for a congressional resolution to formalize his support. Other current critics of President Bush--including Kerry, Graham, Patrick Leahy, Christopher Dodd, and Republican Chuck Hagel--co-sponsored the broad 1998 resolution: Congress "urges the president to take all necessary and appropriate actions to respond to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs." (Emphasis added.)
Daschle said the 1998 resolution would "send as clear a message as possible that we are going to force, one way or another, diplomatically or militarily, Iraq to comply with international law." And he vigorously defended President Clinton's inclination to use military force in Iraq.

Summing up the Clinton administration's argument, Daschle said, "'Look, we have exhausted virtually our diplomatic effort to get the Iraqis to comply with their own agreements and with international law. Given that, what other option is there but to force them to do so?' That's what they're saying. This is the key question. And the answer is we don't have another option. We have got to force them to comply, and we are doing so militarily."

John Kerry was equally hawkish: "If there is not unfettered, unrestricted, unlimited access per the U.N. resolution for inspections, and UNSCOM cannot in our judgment appropriately perform its functions, then we obviously reserve the rights to press that case internationally and to do what we need to do
as a nation in order to be able to enforce those rights," Kerry said back on February 23, 1998. "Saddam Hussein has already used these weapons and has made it clear that he has the intent to continue to try, by virtue of his duplicity and secrecy, to continue to do so. That is a threat to the stability of the Middle East. It is a threat with respect to the potential of terrorist activities on a global basis. It is a threat even to regions near but not exactly in the Middle East."

Considering the views these Democrats expressed four years ago, why the current reluctance to support President Bush?

Who knows? But if the president continues to run into stronger-than-expected resistance from Democrats on Capitol Hill, he can always just recycle the arguments so many Democrats accepted in 1998:

"Just consider the facts," Bill Clinton urged.

"Iraq repeatedly made false declarations about the weapons that it had left in its possession after the Gulf War. When UNSCOM would then uncover evidence that gave the lie to those declarations, Iraq would simply amend the reports. For example, Iraq revised its nuclear declarations four times within just 14 months and it has submitted six different biological warfare declarations, each of which has been rejected by UNSCOM. In 1995, Hussein Kamal, Saddam's son-in-law, and chief organizer of Iraq's weapons-of-mass-destruction program, defected to Jordan. He revealed that Iraq was continuing to conceal weapons and missiles and the capacity to build many more. Then and only then did Iraq admit to developing numbers of weapons in significant quantities and weapon stocks. Previously, it had vehemently denied the very thing it just simply admitted once Saddam Hussein's son-in-law defected to Jordan and told the truth."

Clinton was on a roll:

"Now listen to this: What did it admit? It admitted, among other things, an offensive biological warfare capability--notably 5,000 gallons of botulinum, which causes botulism; 2,000 gallons of anthrax; 25 biological-filled Scud warheads; and 157 aerial bombs. And might I say, UNSCOM inspectors believe that Iraq has actually greatly understated its production.

Next, throughout this entire process, Iraqi agents have undermined and undercut UNSCOM. They've harassed the inspectors, lied to them, disabled monitoring cameras, literally spirited evidence out of the back doors of suspect facilities as inspectors walked through the front door. And our people were there observing it and had the pictures to prove it. "

More Clinton: "We have to defend our future from these predators of the 21st century," he argued. "They will be all the more lethal if we allow them to build arsenals of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them. We simply cannot allow that to happen. There is no more clear example of this threat than Saddam Hussein."

What more needs to be said?

John Kerry | 07.02.08 01:09 AM

I would vote for Colin Powell for President. In my opinion, he would make a better President than either McCain or Obama. He would have to make amends internationally, though.

Powell correctly saw the situation, as it occurred, back in 2003 and he correctly knew the outcome. He also acted appropriately under the circumstances.

Shane | 07.02.08 01:12 AM

I WANT SOME FREE CHICKEN AND WATERMELON FROM barak osama

Rastus Jackson | 07.02.08 01:17 AM

Rastus Jackson

The thing you need free

Is your MIND!

"Free your mind and your ass will follow"
George Clinton

Parm | 07.02.08 01:22 AM

powell is the ultimate affirmative action candidate. reagan chose him from an affirmative action pool of candidates. reagan also chose sandra 'lights out' o'connor and anthony 'lil' barin' kennedy for the backwards looking supreme court.

first powell cannot even pronounce his own name "COLLIN" not "COLON".

the man was carried his entire career, ever since he screwed up the "MY LAI" investigation

send powell back to get his training wheels.

deroy | 07.02.08 01:22 AM

powell is the ultimate affirmative action candidate. reagan chose him from an affirmative action pool of candidates. reagan also chose sandra 'lights out' o'connor and anthony 'lil' brain' kennedy for the backwards looking supreme court.

first powell cannot even pronounce his own name "COLLIN" not "COLON".

the man was carried his entire career, ever since he screwed up the "MY LAI" investigation

send powell back to get his training wheels.

deroy | 07.02.08 01:23 AM

I still can't believe the Dems have nominated Barack Hussein Obama for President. While John McCain merely served 5 years as a POW while serving his country and has an extensive record in the senate, good 'ol Barry Obama's vast experience includes passing out flyers in Chicago between smoking weed and sniffing cocaine. Nice...yet the country swoons because he can read off of a teleprompter and he is (half) black. I'd love to vote for a conservative, qualified black man for president, but this Obama guy is downright scary...left wing city people! Don't let the pretty talk fool you.

Chad | 07.02.08 01:39 AM

Wow deroy, for a black person you sure are down on your brother. At least he has a real name. not a ghetto creation. What the hell is "Deroy"? Is it a name created like LaShonda, Loquisha, Shanana, Shoquanella, Bejondo, Somdigro?

Go back to the plantation.

I have an idea. Instead of sending half of you and your racist bro's back to Africa, how bout we send all of them half way?

Bob | 07.02.08 01:41 AM

Obama is the Anti-Christ.

TruthTeller | 07.02.08 01:41 AM

The dream ticket: Barack Obama and Colin Powell-a brighter, stronger America will be right around the corner with these two in office!

Colin Powell may be a Republican but he would be an amazing VP on the democratic ticket!

Marcia | 07.02.08 03:03 AM

The dream ticket: Barack Obama and Colin Powell-a brighter, stronger America will be right around the corner with these two in office!

Colin Powell may be a Republican but he would be an amazing VP on the democratic ticket!

Marcia | 07.02.08 03:04 AM

Obama is indeed the Anti-Christ. If he were to become president America will enter 7 years of starvation and persecution at the hands of it's own liberal socialists who will beat each other to death providing the opportunity for external haters of America to partner with Obama to enslave us for the next 1000 years.

A vote for Obama is a vote to enslave America.

Jedd Master | 07.02.08 03:15 AM

To "No Communists Please",

What decade are you living in? This isn't the 1950's or 1960's anymore. The Red Scare ended a long time ago. McCarthy is long gone. Quit labeling Obama a communist. It's ridiculous. He has policies that might actually help the country. In case you have not been paying attention, the condition of the country has become quite poor under Republican policies. Wake up already!

Adam Smith | 07.02.08 03:24 AM

Think Powell would cover for all of Obama lies,that'll never happen. Powell man of honer i'm sure he'll VP for McCain. Then Obama dream of not being the 1st black President will be shot to hell. Powell will tell the world Obama half honkey been playing up all the donkeys. And Obama donkey (ass) is full of Crap... Only a G dam fool would support Obama and a fool Powell's not. Endorsement will never come. McCain will tell America he chose Powell for VP and Powell accepted. White and Black Americans unite The Obama's would be pissed Omg what a wonderful thought.

jkdam | 07.02.08 03:30 AM

"I did not inhale!" ~~~~Bill Clinton

"I did not swallow!" ~~~~Monica Lewinski

"I was never a Muslim!" ~~~~Barack Hussein Obama

Jon Paul | 07.02.08 03:31 AM

"I did not inhale!" ~~~~Bill Clinton

"I did not swallow!" ~~~~Monica Lewinski

"I was never a Muslim!" ~~~~Barack Hussein Obama

Jon Paul | 07.02.08 03:32 AM

To "Jedd Master",

Your ignorance is stunning. Please enlighten us with proof as to how Obama is the anti-Christ. We're all waiting for your moronic explanation. Besides, no president of the future could ever be as terrible as GWB has been.

Bush = Worst President ever

Adam Smith | 07.02.08 03:32 AM

Obama is an Arab American.check it out on the web. He also voted against a bill in Illinois that would allow any medical assistance for a baby born alive after an abortion. Is this the kind of person we want for president.

usaproud | 07.02.08 03:41 AM

usaproud | 07.02.08 03:42 AM

Just what really so wrong with Bush.Donkey democraps hold the vote in congress dummy you need to study.President can't do crap if congress votos him. Obama will have it his way if wins and you bet your ass His way all he cares about. Bet he looks in every mirror he walks by and says dam i'm good. American people will have to worship him like that guy they HUNG SADAM .We might get 5 dolla week gas money Cup of rice a day to eat T V all Obama Or his wife telling us get up Obama won't let you sit around Get the hell up. gotta feed the world with your paycheck. USA AKA OBAMIRac

jkdam | 07.02.08 03:52 AM

I can't imagine that someone of Col. Powell's stature would support a deceitful little twit like Obama. I would like to see him become McCain's VP.

Donna Pompei | 07.02.08 04:10 AM

I mean Gen. Powell not Col Powell

donna pompei | 07.02.08 04:20 AM

Anyone who calls Wesley Clark a weasel is clearly unaware that weasels are not punky animals. When Clark traded his 3-star U.S. general's cap for Serbian weaselly-war-criminal Ratko Mladic's generic cap, a bottle of brandy and a pistol, he showed his true animal nature: pissant.

Daibhidh | 07.02.08 04:47 AM

General Powell never was SEC of DEF, he was SEC of STATE.

Steve G | 07.02.08 05:39 AM

When has Obama every reached across the aisle? Check his voting record he is the most liberal senator we have. He either votes party line or present. Reaching across the aisle for the Democrats means the Republicans doing so, they NEVER do. John McCain is a RINO and tries to appease whatever crowd he is talking too. Obama has a great speech writer but other than that what has he done. I don't want the most inexperienced, liberal Senator running my country. Isn't Chicago the mosted taxed city in the country and doesn't Illinois have the highest gas taxes, and who is the Senator from Illinois. Hang on to your wallets folks it's going to get ugly.

Kim Atkinson | 07.02.08 06:49 AM

mr said "Powell was NOT the one to sell the war, he was lied to about WMDs by Bush and Rumsfeld."

Man, oh, man -- you guys can't decide if Pres. Bush is a moron or if he's the all-powerful anti-ch

--Advertisement--

--Advertisement--

July 01, 2008

On Call Exclusive: Obama Met Privately With Powell At His Office

Comments