A Pretty Pathetic Job Application

So former Secretary of State --- and this is his most relevant "former" --- Colin Powell has endorsed The One, Barry He-Whose-Middle-Name-Shall-Not-Be-Spoken Obama for President of the United States.

As someone pointed out to me this morning, it's a pretty pathetic job application.

Think about it. One who finds solace in polling data could conclude that an Obama victory is a foregone conclusion, that it's all over but the shouting. So now, sixteen days before Election Day, Powell endorses The One. Might it be that he wants a job in the new Administration?

After all, look at his justifications. Powell challenges McCain's judgment. Does he do so by pointing out his contempt for the First Amendment, and his support for limiting free speech, as illustrated by the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance "Reform"? Does he attack McCain's support for any eminently arguable policy preferences?

No. Powell claims that it is illustrated by his pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for Vice President, saying that she is clearly not qualified to assume the office of President. But as compared to whom? Barry Obama? After all, Palin has the executive experience that Obama is sorely lacking. When one considers this fact, it becomes readily apparent that Powell's decision --- to the extent that it may not be completely opportunistic --- is based more on ideology than on objective criteria. And if it is based upon ideology, one can legitimately question whether his was ever truly a Republican ideology, even broadly construed.

He fears more conservative Supreme Court nominees? What Republican isn't hopeful of a more conservative Supreme Court?

Indeed, one looks at the endorsement and sees little more than The One's self-serving (and largely false) talking points. To the extent that The One's thin record depicts anything, it reveals a committed Socialist (even when --- uncharacteristically --- someone like "Joe the Plumber" gets access to ask a tough question). Other than that, The One presents little more than an empty vessel, into which his campaign devoutly hopes that the muddled middle will pour its own predispositions and hopes, without knowledge of his thin but actual record.

More interesting is the reaction of the far Left moonbatosphere. They hail the endorsement as a triumph, demonstrating once again that theirs are situational ethics of the worst sort. Aren't these the same people who not so long ago roundly condemned Colin Powell as a mere cipher, spouting the dishonest (they say) arguments in favor of taking out Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein? What is it that converted Colin Powell from a mere propaganda mouthpiece into a sage political analyst?

Apparently, his newfound and arguably opportunistic support for The One.

Lowell Feld, one of the leading moonbats ... er, "lights" over at Ranting Kids ... er, Raising Dough ... er, Raising Kaine ... er, "RK," has even put up a post about past Republican comments about Colin Powell. I suppose it's more fun to attack the other side as hypocritical than to remind readers about your own (or your fellow travellers') previous attacks one someone whom you now believe to have "seen the light."

Powell's endorsement of Obama demonstrates nothing so much as the fact that Powell --- his service to the nation notwithstanding --- is not a serious or consistent political thinker. Certainly, to the extent that he has ever thought about issues broader than national security issues at all.

For this endorsement does not elevate The One so much as it diminishes Colin Powell. And that is unfortunate.