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October 20, 2008
Exclusive: Why Would Colin Powell Call Barack Obama a Transformational Figure?
Colonel David F. Bedey (US Army, ret.)
This past weekend, one of our most respected citizens, Colin Powell, endorsed Barack Obama. In Powell’s words, “I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming into, onto the world stage and the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.” A transformational figure? Ronald Reagan was a transformational figure. But so was Vladimir Lenin.
General Powell is obviously enchanted by the idea of change. But change to what? Like so many of Obama’s unlikely supporters, the old General isn’t so clear on that. And therein lies the secret to Obama’s success.
Two things account for the strength of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. One is that he is a consummate politician: a suave orator – at least when reciting the words on a teleprompter – and a slippery chameleon on issues ranging from the Second Amendment to partial-birth abortion. The other is his recognition that a call for transcending race and “politics as usual” strongly resonates with a great many Americans. Though both are essential, it is the second that has propelled Obama to within reach of the presidency.
For if one manages to wade through his carefully obfuscated policy positions, it becomes apparent that the most liberal member of the Senate is offering us standard Leftist fare on both domestic issues and foreign affairs. It is in part a testimony to his political acumen that “putting lipstick on that pig” has worked so well. But far more telling is that his supporters from outside the Left – without whom his campaign would be doomed – have chosen to overlook his rather orthodox radicalism. Instead they – like Colin Powell – have allowed themselves to be seduced by Obama’s vague message of hope and change.
This is most remarkable because the man who would be our next president has a record that stands in stark contrast with his purported vision. This includes:
· spending 20 years of Sundays taking in the rantings of a rabidly anti-American and racist preacher
· working with an admitted and unreformed domestic terrorist whose gave up bombing buildings in favor of becoming a so-called “educator” whose aim now is to radicalize our children
· boasting of experience gained as a community activist with a radical organization that is now under investigation for perpetrating widespread voter fraud (and was subsidized by the Obama campaign to the tune of $800,000 to support this effort to “get out the vote”)
· jumpstarting his political career by consorting with unsavory characters in Chicago’s notoriously corrupt Democratic political machine
· launching thuggish efforts to smear and intimidate those who oppose him, ranging from Governor Sarah Palin, to the journalist Stanley Kurtz, and most recently to “Joe the Plumber.”
Naturally, Obama – supported by his many surrogates in the media – insists that these associations tell us nothing of his true character. Or that all that counts are the issues we face today. Or that, by the way, only a racist would bring up blemishes in past of the man whom Oprah has deemed to be “The One.”
Colin Powell and too many others have fallen for this gambit. So desperate are they for change, that reason has been abandoned in favor of a blind leap of faith. And the McCain campaign underestimated the power of Obama’s message, and thus has failed to aggressively attack Obama’s duplicity.
But perhaps Obama has been conning his friends on the Left – the likes of Jeremiah Wright, and William Ayers, and his pals at ACORN. Apparently Colin Powell thinks this is the case. But what is more likely is that Obama has deftly extended Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” to the national stage, in which case the dupes are all of the “useful idiots” who buy into his high-sounding rhetoric.
Family Security Matters Contributing Editor Colonel David Bedey (US Army, ret.) served more than 30 years on active duty with the Army before retiring in July 2008. A veteran of the Persian Gulf War, he served in combat engineer units around the world and spent the last 12 years of his military career on the senior faculty at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He now lives in Montana where he writes on cultural issues.
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