Colin Powell confirmed on “Meet the Press” that he twice met with Barack Obama to discuss foreign and defense issues. More significant: President Bush’s first secretary of state twice refused to say he’d definitely back the Republican nominee next year. “I’m going to support the best person that I can find,” he insisted.
Powell is hardly alone. A rising number of Republicans are disillusioned with their president and their party, and that’s bad news for the GOP heading into 2008.
Look at the Senate, where seven Republicans defied their leadership and voted to debate a Democratic resolution declaring no-confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The real number of unhappy Republicans is much higher. Sen. Arlen Specter got it right when he said, “There is no confidence in the attorney general on this side of the aisle.”
Or look at the latest Pew Research Center poll. Bush’s overall approval rating has slumped to 29 percent. Among Republicans, his support has dropped to 65 percent, down from 77 percent only two months ago and 95 percent five years ago.
Of course, any Democratic candidate has to be careful consorting with Powell, who sold the Iraq invasion at the United Nations using deeply flawed intelligence. The general’s once glistening reputation has dulled considerably, and his interview on “Meet the Press” showed why.
As he told interviewer Tim Russert, he “would’ve preferred no war” and warned the president that invading Iraq would saddle the United States “with a major burden for many years.” But once his advice was ignored he supported the mission and never considered resigning in protest. “That’s part of being part of a team,” he explained.
Powell’s determination to play the good soldier – and not apologize for his actions – infuriates antiwar critics like Sara Meric, who wrote to the Los Angeles Times: “You chose to salute and keep quiet. How many American military and Iraqi civilian lives could you have saved if you had used your prestige to speak out forcefully against the planned invasion of Iraq based on an immoral pack of administration lies?”
But Powell remains an important political figure. Don’t forget in 1996 CBS News asked voters who they’d choose if the general was heading the GOP ticket instead of Bob Dole. The result: Powell 50, Bill Clinton 38.
Powell contemplated a candidacy that year but never took the plunge. His wife Alma was worried about his safety and the family’s privacy. As his cousin told us at the time, Powell longed for financial security and wanted to earn enough money so that he could afford to be secretary of state, and that’s exactly what he did.
