Mom is probably the sweetest woman I have ever known. She has a hard time understanding why people are mean to each other so often, and being her son, I have a hard time understanding that as well. She was born in 1940, when the world was very different.
Why be mean when there are so many other ways to treat people?
So today, I was kind of surprised when I got her call this afternoon. She was teary. I was afraid for her upon hearing her tone.
“This has been one of the best 200 days of my life,” she said, in tears.
“Why?” I asked.
“Did you see Colin Powell?”
I missed his appearance on Meet the Press, but when I took her call, I had read about it.
“Powell spoke like we would. He told the truth,” said mom.
She was very touched and her being that moved by Powell’s endorsement of Obama caused me to look up what Powell really said.
Colin Powell:
“I think he would be a transformational president. For that reason I will be voting for Senator Barack Obama.
Snip.
It would not just electrify our country, it would electrify the world.
Snip.
He displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at (economic) problems like this, and picking a vice president (Joseph Biden) that I think is ready to be president on day one.
I was glad to hear that mom was so happy. Powell’s endorsement made me happy in a different way. I’m glad that Powell may have killed McCain’s candidacy by signaling to some moderate and military types that it’s OK to vote Obama. This is the most significant endorsement I can ever remember.
We are going to do this.
Blog de Ford 
I just watched the video, and I have newfound respect for General Powell. He’s a brilliant man, and I’m glad he endorsed Obama, giving his thoughtful reasoning to Meet the Press.
He also made the Free Republic implode.
I’m interested to see whether or not it will really affect the race.
I also wonder…. does his reason for supporting Obama have to do purely with the issue of race? I’d sure hope not.
I think the most powerful thing about the Powell endorsement is that he went out of his way to point out his long-standing friendship with and respect for John McCain. It’s clear Powell agonized over this decision, as borne out – I believe – by the fact that he waited until two weeks prior to the election to make this announcement.
This is a big deal. Of course, the fringe will say that he did it because he is (1) African-American (how dare they attribute such small-minded motives to such a noble man) or (2) that he is still angry with the Bush administration and Republicans for essentially using him and taking blatant advantage of his deference to his commander-in-chief.
But then they didn’t watch him on MTP. And they certainly didn’t see his comments to the press as he was leaving the studio – they’re on Youtube – where he went farther than he did with Brokaw.
I honor your passion. I think it’s great. And I can see that you sincerely want to take people at their word. That’s great too. I’m going to spare you a very lengthy schpeel on why I disagree with you, because I know it won’t change what you think one bit. Years of media indoctrination can not be overcome in one schpeel. But… if you really do want to know the truth, I’d be more than happy to tell you.
Thanks for your patronization.
You’re welcome. I wasn’t even directing that last comment at you, but if you want to take me up on my offer, let me know.
B. Davis: Has Colin Powell only become “brilliant” since he came out in support of Senator Obama?
Hands, heh! Sorry for the misdirected comment. You can patronize me any time.
I’d be glad to :o)
Grins
Hands: I’ve always thought he was brilliant. Back when I was still a Republican, I wanted him to run for President. That’s all.
B. Davis: Well then I guess you must not have been one of the democrats that criticized Colin Powell when HE was the one to come out, pleading the case for the Iraq war. I guess you weren’t one of the democrats that called Colin Powell “Uncle Tom”.
Or do you just have a short memory? Certainly the rest of your party does. If you thought he was brilliant back then, however, when he was the one pleading for us to go to war with Iraq (not Afghanistan, but Iraq), then just say so… I’ll believe you.
Hands, your whole argument is based around a logical fallacy of which many are guilty. It’s that if someone doesn’t agree with you, that they’re stupid. Or not “brilliant” to borrow your verbiage. I can disagree with someone, but still think them an intelligent person. Shared opinions and the respect for the intellect of another are not mutually exclusive things. I find myself not often in agreement with George Will, but I think he is a very bright man. William F. Buckley was a man of profound and deep intellect, but not someone with whom I would find much common ground.
On the other hand, mentioning that you would be happy to tell someone the truth, or casting such wide generalizations with statements like “certainly the rest of your party does”, both of which you do above, does not reveal great thought, but has a certain Colbert-esque silliness to it.
Thank you Gob Bluth for taking the time to rebuttle my argument. This has actually been fun for me. And maybe you’re right — maybe I am throwing around logical fallacies. In fact, I’m sure you’re right.
Nevertheless, I’m taking my gloves off. You’re an American and so am I. And I respect you. That’s really all I care to focus on right now. We’ve got enough people hating us in this world that I’m not going to make the mistakes of hating my own brothers and sisters.
Keep it real, alright?
Hands, I actually do suffer memory loss. As a condition. It’s mostly short term memory, things like forgetting what someone told me twenty minutes previously, but I have lost entire chunks of time, ranging from hours to days.
Is it that noticeable?
All that aside, having only been a Democrat since about 2002 (raised as a Republican calf), I probably have a different way of looking at things. There are things in the past I wasn’t concerned about and should have been, and vice versa. I’m sorry I offended you.
Take care.