SHOCK!!

I'M SHOCKED!
WE'RE ALL TOTALLY SHOCKED!!

Now that Democrat Barack Obama has been holding a solid lead of 6-10 points over Republican John McCain for several weeks, the debates are over, and nothing but one uppity plumber stands between Obama and the Oval Office,

COLIN "General Teflon" POWELL

ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA

FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED RACE , er, STATES




Am I dissing Mr. Secretary and Joint Chiefs Chair for endorsing the Obamessiah? No -- he can endorse anybody he wants. It just don't impress me-- and that's nothing new. I lay claim to breathtaking consistency, in that I have never really had any use for Colin Powell, one of these men who, ya know, just can't "commit." Specifically, commit to

--rooting out reports of possible atrocities in Vietnam;*

--coughing up the facts on his (admittedly tangential) involvement in Iran-Contra;*

--adequately arming our troops in Somalia because he didn't approve of the nation-building exercise;

--taking out Saddam Hussein after the First Gulf War because it would have been, I dunno, rude?;

--working for action to follow his much-touted 2004 declaration that genocide was being perpetrated in Darfur. We all remember those inspiring words:

Mr. Chairman, some seem to have been waiting for this determination of genocide to take action. In fact, however, no new action is dictated by this determination. We have been doing everything we can to get the Sudanese government to act responsibly. So let us not be preoccupied with this designation of genocide. These people are in desperate need and we must help them. Call it a civil war. Call it ethnic cleansing. Call it genocide. Call it 'none of the above'. The reality is the same: there are people in Darfur who desperately need our help.

I seem to recall that "none of the above" ended up ruling the day.

[*notice how extremely liberal are the publications linked here -- bet they're singing a different tune today]

And then there's Powell's unconscionable silence while Karl Rove and Scooter Libby were interrogated to shreds, in the guise of finding out what prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and Colin Powell both knew from the get-go of the Valerie Plame Name Blame Game: that it was Powell's deputy and bosom buddy Richard Armitage who was the source of the non-criminal "leak" of Valerie Plame's identity to columnist Robert Novak.

Powell, Buddha-like, maintained his impassive expression and his "what-me-worry" detachment while innocent men were hounded over and over again, until one of them finally screwed up and contradicted himself. This matter alone should have made Powell too ashamed to show his face in public again.

So now we have Powell's ringing endorsement of the most fit man to be president. Here are his latest inspiring words:

I know both of these individuals very well now. I've known John for 25 years as your setup said. And I've gotten to know Mr. Obama quite well over the past two years. Both of them are distinguished Americans who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare of our country. Either one of them, I think, would be a good president...

... I have watched him over the last two years as he has educated himself, as he has become very familiar with these issues. He speaks authoritatively. He speaks with great insight into the challenges we're facing of a military and political and economic nature. And he is surrounding himself, I'm confident, with people who'll be able to give him the expertise that he, at the moment, does not have.

... I think we need a transformational figure. I need--think we need a president who is a generational change. And that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama. Not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Senator John McCain.

[emphases mine]

Wowsers.

Can I just make one comment, as someone who has lived most of my life in an outpost of the British Empire?

Americans do not elect a "figure" to the office of President -- they elect a politician, a policy-maker, an executive, a military Commander-in-Chief. The Queen of England is a "figure" -- she has no direct executive or policy-making authority. She does not "rule" or even "govern" in any real sense of the word (despite the fact that the majority party in Parliament is referred to as "Her Majesty's Government" -- that's an epithet of loyalty, not one of obedience or even "consultation" in any real sense of the word).

Are we clear? If Secretary Powell wants a "figure" he is free to emigrate to someplace where such is considered necessary to the state. On the plus side, monarchies have a built-in "generational change" -- after the aged Elizabeth's reign is over, her place will be taken by her outstanding son (gack). Or, if God is indeed an Englishman, the crown will pass right on to her far more appealing (and probably more intelligent and slightly more calcium-enriched) grandson Wills.

Go for it, General Teflon. British Airways has these cool bed-thingies in Business Class.

Apparently Secretary General Teflon has taken such a very long time to make his endorsement decision because he has been working diligently to inform himself about the candidates' stands on all the iss-yews. That's how he learned all about the man that young Barack Obama shared an office with for three years (in what Powell calls "this very, very limited relationship"!) :

I have no truck for William Ayers. I think what he did was despicable, and to continue to talk about it in 2001 is also despicable. But to suggest that because Mr. Barack Obama had some contacts of a very casual nature--they sat on a educational board--over time is somehow connected to his thinking or his actions, I think, is a, a terrible stretch.
[emphasis mine -- for gawdsakes buy a paper, Colin!!]

Well, I may be in a minority among Republicans, but Powell's endorsement of Obama has done nothing to diminish my respect for the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. 'Cuz my opinion of him weren't so very high to begin with.


Department of Keep Your Friends Close,
and Your Enemies Closer:

WITH ENDORSEMENTS LIKE THESE,
WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?

Over on Planet Biden, after both Presidential candidates received a preparatory FBI briefing on national security matters, Old Joe apparently soiled himself, promptly went out on the stump and produced this series of gems:

Mark my words. it will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.

I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate. And he's gonna need help. And the kind of help he's gonna need is, he's gonna need you - not financially to help him - we're gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it's not gonna be apparent initially, it's not gonna be apparent that we're right.

Gird your loins. We're gonna win with your help, God willing, we're gonna win, but this is not gonna be an easy ride. This president, the next president, is gonna be left with the most significant task. It's like cleaning the Augean stables, man. This is more than just, this is more than – think about it, literally, think about it – this is more than just a capital crisis, this is more than just markets. This is a systemic problem we have with this economy.

Joe said all this. Literally. Between him and Powell, anybody getting nervous yet? Remember where you heard it first, folks -- his vice-presidential running-mate and his highest-profile endorser have, within a 24-hour period, both let us know that Barack Obama is not, at this moment, quite up to the job. But he'll learn. He's got "steadiness" and curiosity" (yee-ha), not to mention that:

... because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president.

It's called "tripe."


RANDOM MEDIA NUGGETS AND THOUGHTS:

MSM indifference to the hottest stories of the year continues unabated. Is there going to be any interest in Obama's massive possibly illegal foreign contributions between now and a special prosecutor? Anybody got some steadiness or curiosity about this?


It seems to be important to the MSM that Joe the Plumber Wurzelbacher practices plumbing without a license. I wonder why they don't have much of a problem with the fact that a bajillion illegal immigrants have no license to even be in the country, much less to work at jobs like Joe's, but they're doing it anyway, with no end in sight, and a whole lot of flak being flung at anyone who suggests that this situation should not stand.


In the same vein, reading the transcript of Colin Powell's interview on Meet the Press, one can't help but come away with this question: Why is all-but-retired old Republican appointee hack Colin Powell subjected to far more pointed and uncomfortable questions about his career (except, mystifyingly, on Iraq and the surge) than Democratic candidate Barack Obama has ever been asked by any mainstream reporter, ever, ever, anywhere, anytime, at all??? Huh?


Wonder-boy Mark Steyn produces another laugh-a-minute skewering of the media bloodhounds who have ripped Plumber Joe's unremarkable private life to bits, while having no apparent interest in the public life of the Man They Would Make President. Had me chucklin' the whole way through. Favorite exchange:

We need you down here checking out this Joe the Plumber," editors barked to journalists.

"But I'm this close to wrapping up the Wasilla Town Library banned-book investigation!"

"Forget it! The Atlantic Monthly is claiming Joe the Plumber is Trig's real father. We can't get behind on this. Get to Minneapolis Airport. Joe the Plumber was seen in the bathroom with Sen. Larry Craig."

"Yes, but he was installing a stopcock."

"Look, you went to Columbia School of Journalism. This is what we bold, courageous journalists do. We're the conscience of the nation. We speak truth to plumber."

Videos Worth A Look

There's a site with a set of simple and straightforwardly presented videos that all lead to one proposition: what will life be like under an Obama administration? Let's "Never Find Out." Here's a good one:



And here are some words of encouragement for those Baldwins and Streisands and Sarandons and other mutable moonbats who keep threatening to move away when Republicans win elections, but never actually go through with it. Hey, you! Pack up your troubles in your Gucci kit bag, and point the limo north! It's easy -- here's how:


What did Canada do to deserve this?

[hat-tip David Warren]