R.I.P. Colin Powell

[Mister Tee]

I was always ambivalent about Colin Powell. Yes, as Republicans in this era go, he's massively preferable to any of the rest (including McCain, whose affable manner concealed some pretty far-right world views). But the ludicrously obeisant tone the DC press corps took in discussing him always made me think he saw his lane -- The Negro Who Politely Stays with the Status Quo -- and cultivated it by being a good source for reporters. I think his position as Man Who Could Have Been President But Never Went For It is a bit deceptive, too. It always struck me he was viewed that way specifically because he never asked voters to consider him; he's like the nice guy the pretty girl cherishes because he's the only one not hitting on her.

And, as Sabin says -- delicately at first, more forcefully in the edit -- he holds massive responsibility for the disastrous Iraq war. It was going to be hard enough to hold the hell-bent Bush folk from pressing forward. But once Powell did his presentation at the UN, it was beyond impossible. The DC press corps was happy to take direction from the man they wished were their president. Mary McGrory's infamous "I'm Persuaded" column might as well have been reduced to "I'm for it because Colin told me so". Anyone who opposed it after that was a dirty hippie (a position they hold to this day; Iraq war supporters are still treated as experts, opponents as dreamy-eyed leftists). And we'll suffer the repercussions for years to come.

There was the rehabilitation tour and, sure, I'm glad he endorsed Obama and Biden. But, even during that stretch, he fell short. When it was revealed he'd used an email set-up similar to the one Hillary was being lambasted for, he could have used the opportunity to emphasize how trivial an issue it was compared to the menace of Trump. But he was so determined to maintain his own reputation in journalist circles that he emphasized tiny differences...all of which helped the DC press stick to what they'd always believed: that Colin was pristine, totally different from those nasty Clintons.

It's kind of fitting that his death, though apparently largely due to multiple melanoma (a disease, I'm finding out today, singularly resistant to COVID vaccine help), is producing headlines that anti-vaxxers will be using for as long as your bigoted uncle can forward emails. Colin Powell was the guy who, from all appearances, was on the good guy team, but too often seemed to abet the other side.

[Sabin]

For years, if someone asked me if there was a Republican I would have considered voting for, he was one of two names that jumped to mind, the other being "John McCain in 2000." My first memory of Colin Powell was my Dad showing me some news broadcast with him speaking, and telling me that he could be the first black President. It must have been 1994 or 1995. I don't remember. I asked if he would vote for Colin Powell or Bill Clinton in 1996 and he said he wasn't sure.

The fact that he rejected calls for him to run for office paints a nice picture in one's mind of what a Powell administration might have looked like. But the best you can say about Powell's time in the Bush administration was that he might have been manipulated and probably wasn't as culpable as the rest of them. But that doesn't change the fact that -- wittingly or not -- he provided cover for the catastrophic actions of that dreadful administration. That's not a glowing stamp of approval for a leader spoken of in such hushed tones.

At least, he saved the best for last by leaving his party, endorsing Barack Obama and Joe Biden, speaking the last decade and a half publicly frustrated with his former party and speaking out against racism and right-wing extremism. How fitting that his death is only going to dig up more.

NOTE: after I wrote this, I had some real second thoughts about the generally positive tone of this post. It felt like a damned-with-faint-praise sandwich, with Colin Powell's time served in the Bush administration as the rotten meat. So, let me just say this: I'm still pretty comfortable calling the George W. Bush administration the worst of my lifetime for their actions. At the very least, it can be a tie. And Colin Powell was a central figure to their most ignominious moment, selling the Iraq War on the world stage. It almost doesn't matter whatever else you do with your life after that. Your word is pretty much meaningless. Forget the fact that he was correct in Barack Obama and Joe Biden were the better candidates in their elections. Truly, an endorsement for anyone from that administration should be taken as an endorsement for their opponent.

To listen to Colin Powell's account of the lead up to the war in Iraq, he had grave doubts about the war. So, the defining action of Colin Powell's career is one of omission. He didn't resign in protest. Instead, he sold it on the world stage. I do appreciate his outspokenness towards his own/former party, which became stained with right-wing populism after the disastrous administration in which he served. But at the end of the day, everyone from the Bush administration is going to die one day. We don't have to rejoice, but at the very least we should be able to say that they died today and that's okay.

Colin Powell died today. That's okay. I'll just add more than anyone else in that administration, he had the opportunity and the moral compass to do the right thing, and he didn't.

[Big Magilla]

He died from Covid complications after being vaccinated. The anti-vaxxers are going to have a field day with this.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politi ... s-n1281746