Video- President Obama: Helping America Become a Grad Nation

VIDEO- Colin Powell: We Are Not Less Safe Under Obama

By GottaLaff


Watch CBS News Videos Online

I'm no fan of Powell, but ...

Claims that the United States is less safe under President Obama are not credible, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said on "Face the Nation" Sunday.

He also challenged criticism by some (including former Vice President Dick Cheney, who say that by not using extreme interrogation techniques such as waterboarding on terror suspects the United States is more vulnerable. [...]

Powell stuck by his conviction that Guantanamo Bay prison facility should be closed. [...]

However, while he favors a federal court trial for Kaleid Sheik Mohammed, he said he would not have picked downtown New York City to try the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, opting rather for a secure military base, "where it would not become a circus."

I'm sorry, I need a minute.

Okay, I'm good.

I'm not accustomed to reasonable, measured conversation any more.

Powell Favors Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

By GottaLaff

So The former heavyweight opponent has flipped, unlike John McCain, in the proper direction. Pretty meaningful endorsement, plenty of heft, and should be heeded immediately:

Gen. Colin L. Powell, who as the nation’s top military officer in the 1990s opposed allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, switched gears today and threw his support behind efforts to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law he helped shepherd in.

“In the almost 17 years since the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed,” General Powell said in a statement issued by his office. He added: “I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen.”

What are we waiting for, again?

Video- Colin Powell hits back at Limbaugh: Calling Sotomayor a 'reverse racist' is 'nonsense'

Well, this will put Powell back in my BIL's good graces. Via Think Progress.

Quote of the Day

Oh yes they do Don. (The entire Time excerpt is a must read) Via Taegan.

"They never say Colin Powell lied. They don't say Condi lied."

-- Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, quoted by Time, arguing that accusations that former President Bush lied about Saddam Hussein's possession of weapons of mass destruction were unfair.

CNN Poll: Powell vs. Cheney and Limbaugh

Those unfavorables are what the RNC should be looking at carefully. Hope they stick with their current plan though.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – As Colin Powell fires back against Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh in the latest skirmish in the battle over the future of the Republican Party, a new national poll indicates that Americans have a much more favorable opinion of Powell than Cheney or Limbaugh.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Monday, suggests that 70 percent have a favorable opinion of Powell, who was Secretary of State during President George W. Bush's first term, and who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Persian Gulf War.

Only 30 percent of those polled have a favorable view of Limbaugh, the popular conservative radio talk show host, with 53 percent saying they hold an unfavorable opinion.

In poll numbers released Thursday, 37 percent say they have a favorable opinion of Dick Cheney, with 55 percent indicating they hold an unfavorable view of the former vice president.

Among Republicans, it's a different story. The poll suggests that 66 percent of Republicans have a favorable view of Cheney, 64 percent give Powell a thumbs up, and 62 view Limbaugh in a favorable way.

Colin Powell On Face The Nation Part 1 Of 2 May.24, 2009

As you can probably guess, there's nothing going on right now, so you get some vids. Part 2 here.

Oh, lets give General Powell the Quote of the Day while we're at it-

"Let's debate the future of the party. And let's let all the segments of the party come in," Powell, a Republican who served in President George W. Bush's Cabinet but endorsed Obama last year, told CBS's "Face the Nation."

"And, if we don't do that, if we don't reach out more, the party is going to be sitting on a very, very narrow base. You can only do two things with a base. You can sit on it and watch the world go by, or you can build on the base," Powell added.

Colin Powell: GOP must be more inclusive

By GottaLaff

What? The Nation of Dick and Boss Limbaugh didn't convince Colin Powell that he's really a Democrat? Shocking:

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says he's still a Republican, but the party needs to change and be more inclusive. [...]

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and radio personality Rush Limbaugh have openly mocked Powell's political leanings - questioning whether he still is in the GOP.

Powell says if the GOP doesn't reach out to more people, then the party will rest on a narrow base of supporters. Powell says that by moving to the right, the GOP risks losing right-of-center Republicans to Democratic and independent parties.

Too late, Colin.

On his presidential votes, Powell describes himself as having a long, solid record of voting for Republicans. But he says he did vote for Democrats John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter.

Video- Karl Rove: I Prefer Limbaugh Over Powell

Don't forget Powell is on Face The Nation. Could get good. Video via Think Progress.

VIDEO: Cheney picks Limbaugh's version of the GOP over Powell's

By GottaLaff



Bottom feeders tend to stick together. Case in point:

If forced to pick, former Vice President Dick Cheney said he'd side with conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh over his administration's former Secretary of State, Colin Powell.

"If I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I'd choose Rush Limbaugh," Cheney said when asked about whose vision of the GOP he'd side with. "My impression was that Colin was no longer a Republican."

My impression was that the Nation of Dick was no longer a human.

Cheney also asserted the Bush administration's policies on enhanced interrogation and domestic surveillance saved as many as hundreds of thousands of lives.

Cheney said he has absolutely no regrets over the policies put in place during the Bush administration, which have spurred a fierce debate since President Obama ordered the reversal of several policies and the release of memos detailing the use of those policies. [...]

Cheney reiterated his assertion that the Obama administration has made the U.S. less safe by reversing Bush-era policies, and called again for the release of intelligence reports during his time in office which, Cheney claimed, would vindicate his administration's work. [...]

Cheney asserted the memos "overwhelmingly" demonstrate the effectiveness of waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation" tactics. Critics have alleged that those tactics amount to torture.

Maybe he would care to submit himself to the same "techniques" so that we might finally get a few answers about his multitude of secrets. If nothing else, he could prove conclusively how overwhelmingly effective waterboarding can be. Then he can go back to all the Sunday shows and boast about it without anyone ever challenging him again.

Hannity And Steyn Attack Colin Powell Over Criticisms Of Limbaugh

As proof that Limbaugh is mainstream Republican, Steyn said, “Take Rush Limbaugh's listeners away from the Republican Party base and there isn't a lot left.”

I think that's the whole point. Via Newshounds.

Rush Limbaugh: General Powell Should Become A Democrat

At this point I'd consider donating to make Rush the chair of the RNC. Go Rush GO!!!

Reaching out:: Obama to host dinners honoring Powell, Biden and McCain

By GottaLaff

I'm not sure I could be this generous:

President-elect Obama will host a series of dinners the night before his inauguration honoring Ret. Gen. Colin Powell, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, and his former presidential rival, Republican Sen. John McCain, the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced Saturday.

"In these times of great challenge and great change, leadership requires rising above the same old narrow partisanship," the president-elect said in a statement released by the committee.

"Each of these distinguished Americans has spent his life in service to his country, at each and every moment placing the interests of America before issues of political party. That is precisely the spirit of common purpose we need as we begin the work ahead."

Have you ever seen a (soon-to-be) president go so out of his way to be inclusive? Or to put it another way, Obama's the anti-Bush.

Oh, and by the way: Powell is not looking for an administration job.

Colin Powell launches new Obama community service initiative "Renew America Together"

By GottaLaff

Colin Powell was just on the Tee Vee Machine announcing the unveiling of the new Obama community service web site called USA Service:

[The] “Renew America Together” initiative, [is] asking all Americans to make an ongoing commitment to serve their communities and their country. The “Renew America Together” initiative will begin on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 19th to honor the legacy of a man who lived his life in service to others.

Powell:

At this moment of great purpose and great promise, President-elect Obama is calling on all Americans to make an ongoing commitment to serve their communities and their country. We’re not just asking the American people for one day of service. We are asking you to make an ongoing commitment of your time - an hour, a weekend, whatever you can spare. Because that’s how we’re going to rebuild this country and meet our great challenges - together.

A quote from Powell that I caught just now sums it up.

"I got back more than I gave."

Grandma Grizzly's self-serving belittling of such programs only speak to her bovine intellectual capacity and will lead to her continuing propulsion to as-yet-undiscovered depths.

Colin Powell to hold presser on behalf of Obama

By GottaLaff

Just a one-liner about Powell and the Inauguration Committee holding a presser. D'oh! I ruined the surprise:

The former secretary of state will hold a media avail at the Mayflower Hotel at 12:15 pm ET about Obama's call to national service.

I just can't keep a secret.

VIDEO-- Colin Powell slams Palin: I’m from the South Bronx, ‘and there’s nothing wrong with my value system.’

By GottaLaff

Pitiful Palin and her "small town values" are no match for Colin Powell. Suh-nap:

In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that will air this weekend, former Secretary of State Colin Powell sharply criticized the Republican party and it’s “value system,” taking particular aim at Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK).

My respect for Powell dropped drastically after his little WMD presentation to the U.N., but that doesn't mean he can't talk rings around Idiot Spice.

In addition, there's this:

Powell also says that we should rethink its "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals in the military.

I, Barack Hussein Obama...

By GottaLaff

We hear at TPC have not shied away from mentioning Barack Obama's middle name. In fact, the second he was declared the winner on November 4th, I proudly posted it in full. Many of us even made a point of adding it to our Comment identities (as in Gotta Hussein Laff) during the primaries.

In an L.A. Times editorial today, they agree that Obama should embrace his Husseinitude:

When George W. Bush was sworn in for his second term in 2005, he began his oath of office with the words: "I, George Walker Bush." [...]

No controversy surrounded Bush's inclusion of his middle name in the oath. The same might not be true of a decision by Barack Obama to take his oath as "Barack Hussein Obama" -- which is precisely why he should do so. [...]

Obama is a Christian, but Hussein, his middle name, is a common Muslim name. To capitalize on anti-Muslim sentiment, detractors took to calling him "Barack Hussein Obama." [...]

Stripped of such evil intent, the "Hussein" in Obama's full name shouldn't be taboo. Nor should the idea of an openly Muslim citizen deciding to seek the presidency.

As Colin Powell said,

"Is there something wrong with a 7-year-old Muslim American kid believing he or she could be president?"

No, there isn't.

Most Muslim Americans believe in and are pursuing the American dream, and as Powell also noted, they are sometimes dying for it.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a survey. Guess what it concluded?

"Muslim Americans reject Islamic extremism by larger margins than do Muslim minorities in Western European countries." [...]

American[s] with an Islamic faith -- or an Islamic name -- [are] not a second-class citizen[s]. When the new president takes the oath, he should say, loudly and proudly: "I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

That did it: Tears. And pride.

The Late Late Show - Craig On Colin Powell

Is it a bad thing that I thought the same thing as Craig on the Powell/McCain situation?

Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski On Powell Endorsement From Morning Joe

I hate the way Mika acts all afraid of her dad and stupid little girly, but I love the way Dr Brzezinski summed up the endorsement. Took the wind outta Joe's sails. h/t O'Neal.

Pat Buchanan says Colin Powell endorsed Obama because he's black

We may yet get my predicted scene of Buchanan running around the MSNBC set screaming the N word at the top of his lungs. Watch for this ridiculous meme to be repeated ad nauseum on the Every Rush Talking Point Approved Morning Joe™.

Video via C&L.

Added- Seems George Will got the talking points too. I missed this part running from the room to post the endorsement. Wow.