Has Move To Discredit Powell Over Obama Endorsement Begun?

When former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama today, Powell’s explanations of why were a kind of laundry list of why many independent voters have recently been breaking for Obama over Republican Sen. John McCain.

The two immediate questions then became:

1. How would this impact Obama’s campaign and McCain’s campaign?

2. Would there be a move to discredit Powell — since the modus operandi of 21st century politics is that there is invariably an attempt to discredit politicians, journalists and other writers by partisans who seemingly feel threatened by viewpoints other than their own that could gather acceptance and steam.

On number one: it’s too early to tell. Pundits are speculating.

And on number two: the move to discredit Powell has already begun. Read TMV co-blogger Michael Sticking’s post HERE on Rush Limbaugh and George Will suggesting, in effect, that Powell only endorsed Obama because he and Obama are black.

But also note these comments via The Politico on not for attribution comments from Republican operatives in response to Powell’s endorsement:

But one prominent ally of McCain voiced what is on the minds of many GOP loyalists after watching Powell this morning.

“Let’s be honest — do we think Powell would be doing this if Obama had been trailing 6 or 7 points in the polls?” asked this source. “It’s a profile in conventional wisdom.”

This is a classic example of discrediting someone. Would this source have said the same thing if Powell had endorsed McCain? If you think so, then I can sell you THIS for $5.

Further, this Republican said, for all the former secretary of state’s criticism of McCain and his praise of Obama, the move had less to do with the two candidates for president than the current occupant of the Oval Office.

“Powell cares a lot about his reputation with Washington elites, and he thinks he was badly damaged by his relationship with the Bush administration,” said the source. “So this is a way to make up for what he regarded as not being treated well by the Bush administration, not being given the due deference he thinks he deserves.”

Again: it’s a not-so-subtle personal attack, charging that Powell is a weak-willed, vain, egotist.

But it’s more: it is EXACTLY the kind of mind-set and take-out-demonize-and-discredit politics that Powell made clear he found repugnant in the form or robocalls questioning Obama’s patriotism and the use of the Ayers issue to suggest that Obama is in effect a fellow traveler of terrorists.

The Politico also added this:

A friend of the former secretary of state sharply dismissed the idea that Powell’s move had anything to do with making up for his service in the Bush years.

“Anybody who is making the argument about ‘rehabilitation’ was not listening to what he had say today,” said the friend, suggesting Powell made clear that he was unhappy with the state of the party. “It’s absolute horse—.” [TMV uses newspaper standards so we edited the word, but it is a point well taken...]

The not-for-attribution attacks on Powell are not surprising. This is way politics is done. But here is one personal note:

There had been several reports in recent days, and even a teaser by Meet The Press host Tom Brokaw that in-effect said Powell could go on the Sunday morning TV show and not endorse but let his preference for Obama be known. But the events of the past few days with Obama being described as a quasi-socialist, the use of the Ayers issue, the robocalls plus the continued surfacing of stories about fringe McCain supporter elements indulging in various forms of racism gave me a strong feeling this morning before the show came on:

He was going to endorse Obama in a big way. Powell — like so many independent voters who yearned for a post-Lee Atwater-post-Karl Rove era and a more forward-looking form of issue politics — would probably in-effect say enough is enough.

And he did just that. In fact, in this You Tube via Andrew Sullivan you can see he was far more blunt in talking outside the studio. Powell, like so many other voters, respects McCain and the 2000 version of McCain, which seems to have been recalled by the manufacturer. None of this means Obama will win — or win easily. Demonization and negative campaigning show signs of sticking. But it does illustrate how McCain increasingly has to turn to the politics of polarization, which is turn-off politics to some.

FOOTNOTE: If you read TMV and have followed various writers on this site, you’ll note that he is addressing many of the same concerns and news stories many writers on this site who started out in 2007 being sympathetic to McCain have noted here.