ANALYSIS
Use a pencil in crossing Powell, McCaskill, Pritzker, others off administration watch list
Washington Post Dec 1, 08 3:44 PM CST
(Newser)
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There is a sizable list of qualified candidates who have expressed no interest in Obama cabinet positions—for now. Noting in the Washington Post that Hillary Clinton once demurred, too, Al Kamen takes a look at a few pols who’ve said no, or haven’t been “approached.” John Brennan: A top aide to Obama on intelligence during the campaign, he came under fire from liberals for being close to Bush policies, which he denies, and removed his name from consideration.
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ANALYSIS
Scowcroft, adviser to Bush I, will likely see protégés in key posts
Wall Street Journal Nov 24, 08 9:26 AM CST
(Newser)
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Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser to the first President Bush and shunned by the second over Iraq, is likely to exercise serious foreign-policy influence in Barack Obama’s administration, the Wall Street Journal reports. Scowcroft, known for a non-ideological foreign-policy philosophy, counts among his protégés a number of Obama allies and likely appointees, including Colin Powell and Robert Gates.
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I'll step aside for
new leaders, former State chief says
Wall Street Journal Nov 5, 08 1:22 PM CST
(Newser)
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Colin Powell doesn’t want a job in Barack Obama’s “historic” administration, preferring instead to see a new generation of leaders. “Why? I've done it,” Powell told the Wall Street Journal today in Hong Kong. The Bush-era secretary of State, who endorsed Obama last month, also assured Chinese business leaders that the president-elect will listen to allies, “perhaps more than the past administration.”
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Deliberations to begin Wednesday
Anchorage Daily News Oct 21, 08 10:21 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The jury in the corruption trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens will begin deliberating tomorrow, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Prosecutors urged the jury to use common sense to conclude that $250,000 in gifts received by the powerful senator were bribes. His defense counsel told jurors that evidence against Stevens, 84, has been twisted.
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OPINION
Obama endorsement brings Powell's judgment into question — again
National Review Oct 21, 08 2:07 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Just as Colin Powell overlooked UN corruption before the Iraq war, he's overlooking Barack Obama's flaws as a candidate, Claudia Rosett writes in the National Review . His endorsement lacked any specifics about the transformations Obama will bring about, leading her to revisit Powell's previous "blind spots." Rosett doesn't "question Powell’s integrity"; instead, it's "his perception of how the wider world actually works that is at issue."
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OPINION
Angry base has handed election to Obama, writes Cohen
Washington Post Oct 21, 08 10:10 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Eight years ago George W. Bush made it to the White House as a "compassionate conservative," with plans to reform education and build a multiracial coalition. In 2008, writes Richard Cohen, that vision of the GOP is dead—replaced by "a mean, grumpy, exclusive, narrow-minded and altogether retrograde Republican Party." And John McCain's campaign bears a disturbing resemblance to that of another Arizona senator: Barry Goldwater.
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Radio host stands by his questioning of Powell's motive
CNN Oct 21, 08 3:34 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Right-wing mouth Rush Limbaugh stood by his comments Sunday that Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama was about the color of his skin, CNN reports. "This was all about Powell and race, nothing about the nation and its welfare," Limbaugh said on his radio show yesterday. He chided the media for taking issue with his statement. "So what if it's race? Why is it so hard to admit that it's race?"
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Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Oct 20, 08 7:37 PM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain is disappointed that longtime friend Colin Powell didn't even call him before backing Barack Obama, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. McCain didn't like Powell's criticism of Sarah Palin, either. "I wished he had taken the opportunity to meet Governor Palin," McCain said. "I'm proud to have four former secretaries of state endorse me and over 200 admirals and generals who are retired support me."
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OPINION
Too many in both parties let stabs at Muslim faith go unparried
Washington Post/Newsweek Post Global Oct 20, 08 1:48 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Colin Powell's Barack Obama endorsement wasn’t the only, or even most, notable aspect of his Meet the Press appearance: equally crucial was his rejection of Islamophobia, an issue too long skirted in this country, Abed Z. Bhuyan writes in the Washington Post / Newsweek Faithbook blog. In doing so, “Colin Powell lived up to his billing as senior American statesman,” Bhuyan notes.
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Role could be formal or informal
New York Daily News Oct 20, 08 9:30 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Officially or otherwise, Colin Powell would have a place in a Barack Obama White House, the presidential frontrunner said yesterday. The former secretary of state “will be one of my advisers,” Obama told Today. “Whether he wants to take a formal role, whether that's a good fit for him, is something we'd have to discuss.” Powell endorsed Obama Sunday, but said he wasn’t after a job, the New York Daily News reports.
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ANALYSIS
Obama endorsement from respected statesman will draw swing voters
Politico Oct 20, 08 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama has backed an already-defensive John McCain even further into a corner, writes Politico. Following what McClatchy Newspapers calls a “blistering critique” of McCain’s campaign by the former secretary of state, the Republican has found himself defending anew the Palin pick, the Ayers angle and his recent onslaught of negative robocalls—a tactic he condemned in the 2000 race.
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analysis
Senator no longer needs to prove he
can lead the nation
Time Oct 19, 08 8:04 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Colin Powell made life a lot easier for Barack Obama by endorsing him today, Mark Halperin writes in Time . He swallowed up a few days of media time; he gave Obama the support of a respected figure; and he allayed fears that Obama can't cut it as commander-in-chief. Powell's support "makes it much harder, even if there is an unexpected international crisis, for Republicans to suggest Obama simply isn't qualified to protect the country," writes Halperin.
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