The Powell Effect

The ink is barely dry on this morning’s paper and the Obama camp is already hinting that Gen. Colin Powell could play a pivotal role in an Obama administration.

The cynic would say that was exactly what was intended with yesterday’s endorsement. Gen. Powell saw the writing on the wall, and figured he better get while the gettin’ was still good.

I disagree. Colin Powell is an admired friend; one whom I know rises above the political winds and the spoils of victory. If what the cynics say were true, we’d be addressing him as President Powell in the wake of the successful Gulf War.

But as much as I admire and respect him, Powell made the wrong choice yesterday. Unless he’s changed his party affiliation, Gen. Powell is still a Republican, and Sen. Obama is as liberal as they come. Just ask yourself this: If there were a white liberal Democrat running for president against McCain, would Gen. Powell’s decision been any different? Would his announcement on "Meet the Press" been any less prominent? The point is it’s easy to get caught up in the potential significance of this election, and I think that’s what happened with Gen. Powell.

I can’t say I didn’t have similar feelings myself. Sure, when Obama first came on the scene, I felt that sense of history being made. I still do. But there’s so much more that makes a man (or woman) right for the highest office in the land, and frankly, it’s those doubts that should have caused Gen. Powell to give further pause to his decision.

As “electrifying” as President Obama would be, how quickly would that luster wear off should the winter months bring a greater Afghanistan threat? Or the Russians wade deeper into the former Soviet republics? You have to imagine the world’s tyrants will test Obama from day one.

The Illinois state Senate is not the Oval Office. And Gen. Powell would have done well to remember that you don’t put your greenest soldiers on the front lines in the heat of battle.