Colin L. Powell for President

[bad_dad_brad]

I was watching that great old epic movie, Cecil B. DeMill's "The Ten Commandments" tonight and I was struck by something. I was struck by how great a leader Moses was. He lead by compassion and wisdom. He could have been the king of Egypt, but instead, he chose to be a slave, so that he could lead his people out of bondage. Well, it is only a movie, about an ancient story, but still there are many lessons to be learned, about men, real men, and true selfless leaders.

Alas, we are faced in November with no choice. Both candidates for the Presidency of the most powerful nation on Earth, are born of lazy and ignorant privilege. Both are rich men by birth. Both feel not one kindred soul for the poor or average citizen. Both believe in their own resolve and belief to fix things, without one ounce of reason or experience to back their decision. One man believes in a God of his own belief that directs his righteous ignorance to folly. The other believes that Man is a secular God that can solve anything without divine advice. Both are wrong.

I believe we are currently at America's darkest and most challenging hour. I believe that corporate greed directs the actions of our politicians, and that the prophecy of the last true leader of our time, Dwight D. Eisenhower, has been foretold. Beware the military industrial complex. Since that warning our elected governed have either been clueless pawns, or worse, duplicitous participants in the prostitution of America by corporations both domestic and foreign. It is a sad thing, for there is so much good in this great land, and to see it perverted, causes me great discomfort. As an American, I yearn and plead for direction, and for leadership.

Well, what to do in November? I still feel that every person's vote counts. You know, I predict one of the lowest voter turn outs ever in this presidential election. The people are dismayed and disillusioned. But I am going to trudge out to my poling place, recently changed from a community center, to a Presbyterian church, and I am going to vote a write in. I will vote for a decent man, a thinking man, a man who cares, a man that came from humble origins, a man who has seen the hardship of war, and the promise of peace. I am going to vote for Secretary of State, Colin L. Powell, as a write in. I urge you all to do the same.

 

[Standing Wolf]

If I wanted to vote for a guy with no spine, I'd go all the way to the bottom of the barrel and vote for that Kerry creature.

 

[w4rma]

I am in full agreement with the first part of that statement: Powell has no spine.

 

[bad_dad_brad]

You know, I watched a "History Channel" program today on the Spartans, and they mentioned the phrase "Molon Labe", which means, when challenged to give up their weapons, and surrender, the response was "come and get them." That is what I mean. Do not vote for Bush or Kerry!

 

[Marshall]

If I wanted to vote for a guy with no spine, I'd go all the way to the bottom of the barrel and vote for that Kerry creature.

Ditto

 

[RangerHAAF]

He's not a true believer

The highly esteemed Secretary of State is one of the most respected men in Washington but regretfully all of you are right. He is not a true believing conservative. Does anyone even know if he considers himself a Democrat, Republican or Libertarian for the record? I've heard him quoted that he supports affirmative action; but having a military background he understands how America has to deal with it's enemies and supports those measures.

I would say that men and women like Colin Powell are good people to appoint to key positions but they seem to lack the intestinal fortitude to declare their beliefs and stand up for them publicly. Which is the final step for every politician aspiring to higher elected office.

 

[priv8ter]

L. Neil Smith

I was reading some L. Neil Smith essays online, and, one might get the impression that he doesn't very much care for Mr. Powell.

You can read the whole essay here:
http://keithlynch.net/lns/apitc

Here is my favorite thought from it:

What we can be confident about is that, 20 years from now, there
won't _be_ any Democrats, just two wings of the Republican Party, one
of them weak, cowardly, cretinous, and evil (the one we're forced to
live with today) and the other even worse. And both of them too dumb
to live.

I guess I'm going to agree with RangerHAAF. A guy I don't mind seeing in a position where he is just supposed to give advise, but I don't think I want him to have the reigns all to himself.

greg

 

[RealGun]

I see this as just another angle on Bush bashing and Libertarian Party recruiting. It is full of the perjorative, factoids, and anti establishment sentiment.

I don't know that Colin Powell has ever held political office. He has always been selected based upon competency and loyalty. I see him as a man of integrity and no less a Presidential prospect than Eisenhower was. His time has not come in my opinion, but I do see him as replacing Cheney, becoming a political animal, and being a candidate to follow the Bush administration.

I think the reason he was briefly kept in the dark on occasion is so that his diplomatic statements would not be compromising. Yeah, it's a game, but I believe that is how it works.

 

[RangerHAAF]

The way he's currently going his time may never come because he's never declared to substantively stand for anything. He is technically proficient and competent in all of the jobs that he's been assigned but I don't think he'll ever take the big step into elected office because I think that he's thin skinned when it comes to personal criticism. Also, notice that when he's being interviewed he's very good at articulating the policies of the President and the military but I've never heard an interviewer ask him what his personal opinion is on a subject like RKBA or foreign trade. I'm sure he has an opinion but until he lets everyone else in on them he's not gonna be elected anytime soon.

Which is a shame because he is electable.

He's use to having his orders carried out immediately with a salute but in the real world of politics and civilians, people don't move as quickly as they do in the army and they often question and ask why they are being told to do something; and if they don't like the answer they might not do it.

 

[longeyes]

Uh, isn't C.P. on record as a gun-grabber? I seem to remember reading statements by him that were hardly consonant with the 2A views on this forum.

And beware State Dept. types bearing gifts. C.P. is a bit too comfortable hobnobbing with the international/U.N. set for my taste. I think we want to be wary of looking for The Great Man to pull us out of a mess that needs, in the end, to be addressed at the grass roots, with the creation of an active and responsible citizenry.

 

[RangerHAAF]

I think that some one asked him recently about the proposed constitution of Iraq and it's glaring omission of an RKBA section. I don't remember exactly what he said but he did seem to brush off and trivialize the question. I think that it can be reasonably inferred that he's not a staunch advocate of RKBA; but in fairness to him, he's never said it out loud.

 

[glocksman]

I have no source to prove it, but supposedly Powell once declared that he was a 'Rockefeller Republican'.

I'd sooner elect a Democrat than a Rockefeller Republican.

 

[13A]

I will write in Ron Paul for president.

 

[geegee]

Colin Powell is in favor of gun control, abortion, and affirmative action. I guess those would be three positions that make him an unattractive candidate for me. In addition, his wife wants him out of politics, and I personally don't think he'll even stick around for another term if Bush is re-elected.

I'm betting his next stop will be U.N. Ambassador or possibly sit on a few corporate boards and rake in some dough.

 

[targetshootr]

Yesterday he admitted some of the intelligence about WMDs was deliberately misleading. Which is all well and good, since everyone knew that, but instead of feeding us that info last year he should have resigned and tried to prevent the mess we find ourselves in. He has more integrity than his boss, but that's not saying much.

 

[Baba Louie]

Yesterday he admitted some of the intelligence about WMDs was deliberately misleading.

And today we hear about the sarin filled artillery round-roadside bomb.
Delicious Irony I tell ya.

 

[targetshootr]

I am surprised we haven't seen more cases of gases being used. Even though they apparently didn't have huge amounts, there is surely more than that out there. David Kay said whoever set the bomb probably had no idea what was in it since it their toxic ammo was not marked differently than the others.

 

[RealGun]

Colin Powell on the issues

To say he is "for gun control" is not a fair statement. Rather than think the worst, read the context. What he is "for" is the status quo, i.e. it is not an issue for him. That is hardly unique among government officials. At least he is a soldier and owns guns.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

At the time of the last election I was facing the decision that bad_dad_brad describes. I couldn't bear the thought of Gore as president, and I could see that Bush was going to be nothing more than a front for Cheney, who would actually call the shots. I could not, in conscience, vote for either.

And I realized that I had spent my entire votong life either voting against someone, or voting for "the lesser of two evils," which is not really voting FOR someone IMHO. I realized that I was just very, very tired of never having been able to vote FOR a candidate I really believed in and whom I could unconditionally support ... and TRUST.

So I did the only logical thing available to me. I wrote in my vote. I voted for myself as President, and Jesse Ventura as Vice President. I am in the same situation as we approach this election. I'll very likely repeat my vote for me as President, but I don't know yet who I'll write in as my "running mate."

 

[Michigander]

I once had the utmost respect for Powell.

But not after this last Iraq military action and what lead up to it.

Although I guess I'm glad he is still a part of the administration, although how much of a part, I do not know.

 

[Treylis]

I will write in Ron Paul for president.

Why do that instead of voting for Nolan or Russo?

 

[geegee]

I'll very likely repeat my vote for me as President, but I don't know yet who I'll write in as my "running mate."

Hawkmoon: I need to do the right thing here, so you don't lose any momentum. It pains me to say it, but I can't be considered as your running mate. I know that may affect your fund raising, but I'm a naturalized citizen, so having been born outside the U.S. will of course mean I can't run for President after your two terms are up. I'm sorry, but you need to pick up the pices and carry on without me. geegee

 

[nero45acp]

I'd much rather vote for Powell than Kerry or Bush. I believe Powell has more intelligence and better judgement than the other two combined.

As to the composition of Powell's spine, I'd much rather have Powell at my side in a SHTF scenario than the other two yahoos!!





nero

 

[Tamara]

"The scope of L&P is now limited to our primary function, the discussion of RKBA, both in the US and elsewhere, and to the discussion of the preservation of our Constitutionally-guaranteed human rights. Other recent events and political topics are not for this forum, because we would like to stick to our primary function." -Oleg Volk