10/22/2008
Could it be that the shock of the racially-motivated disloyalty of the GOP Establishment’s pampered black prince, Colin Powell — whose endorsement of Barack Obama Pat Buchanan politely describes as Colin Powell’s Tribal Politics - will precipitate some realism about ethnicity in conventional Republican circles?
On Tuesday the Wall Street Journal ran what must be its first attack in decades on a Black: Powell Catches the Beltway Breeze, by Bret Stephens, October 21 2008:
Cyrus Vance resigned as secretary of state after Jimmy Carter’s attempt to rescue U.S. hostages in Tehran failed — as Vance thought it would. Alexander Haig resigned the same office two years later when it became clear to him that he was out of step with the rest of the Reagan administration. These resignations were principled, honorable and personally painful decisions.
And then there is the Powell precedent …
Say what you will about Mr. Powell’s endorsement, then, it is also a spectacular repudiation of the Bush administration and of the Republican Party: a double-barreled letter of resignation, broadcast on national TV. But what are we to make of a resignation that arrives nearly four years after its author was let go by the president — despite his widely reported desire to stay on in the second term?
This article, essential reading for any students of Powell, has clearly been briefed by insiders:
In 2004, for instance, (Powell) was quoted in the Washington Post as calling Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith’s policy shop a "Gestapo office."
Mr. Powell never apologized publicly to Mr. Feith (though he did so privately)
It is a systematic destruction of any claim Powell has to integrity in his public life. The question arises: why only now, WSJ?
An amusing aspect of the on line version of this piece is an unexplained photograph of General Powell performing dance contortions alongside two other black men.
The blog Craptocracy explains:
The Times of London said Powell, 71, surprised the crowd at the Africa Rising music and fashion festival by singing and doing a version of the Nigerian dance Yahoozee Tuesday night.
"I stand before you tonight as an African-American," The Times quoted Powell as telling the audience. "Many people say to me, 'You became secretary of state of the USA., is it really necessary to say you are an African-American, or that you are black?' And I say, 'Yes,' so that we can remind our children. It took a lot of people struggling to bring me to this point in history. I didn’t just drop out of the sky. People came from my continent in chains. There’s no reason a new Africa can’t be created right here and now."
Craptocracy links to a BBC itemWednesday October 25 2008:
It is not clear if Mr Powell was aware that the song was about Nigeria’s notorious internet fraudsters.
Other apposite blog comments are here and here.
It looks like Tuesday was Ethnic Reality day at the Wall Street Journal. An Editorial: Bernanke Endorses Obama There was a time when Fed chairmen feared to even seem political. mourns
Ben Bernanke apparently wants four more years as Federal Reserve Chairman. At least that’s a reasonable conclusion after Mr. Bernanke all but submitted his job application to Barack Obama yesterday by endorsing the Democratic version of fiscal "stimulus."
… Mr. Bernanke could have begged off — and would have been wiser to do so — given how much the Fed has already made itself a political lightning rod with its many Wall Street interventions. He might also have thought twice about endorsing one party’s policy preferences a mere two weeks before Election Day given his obligation to preserve the Fed’s independence. We can remember when tougher Fed chairmen used to refrain from adjusting interest rates close to an election for fear of seeming to be political; they would never have dreamed of meddling in campaign tax and spending debates.
Ben Bernanke is a life time academic — even worse, an Ivy League professor. Furthermore, he is Jewish. Probabilitities are multiplicative. Ivy League Professors are unlikely to be 10% Republican. McCain will be lucky to carry 20% of the Jewish vote. The chances of Bernanke being a loyal Republican are about 1 in 50. And this has always been obvious.
Rise and shine, Wall Street Journal!
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