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Powell '12: Can the former secretary of state lead the GOP to victory?
Forbes.com ^ | July 13, 2009 | Reihan Salam

Posted on 07/14/2009 3:33:55 PM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia

Could Colin Powell run against Barack Obama as a Republican and win? The idea is more than a little fanciful. Alma Powell, Colin Powell's wife, has long opposed her husband's political forays. And of course a presidential campaign would be an ordeal for a man Powell's age, his robust health notwithstanding. It doesn't help that there is no clamor for a Powell presidential campaign.

Back in 1996, he was seen as an Eisenhower-like figure who could unite Republicans and independents to defeat Bill Clinton. Since then, Powell has alienated Republicans with his sharp criticisms of social conservatives and his support for affirmative action, among other things. Then, of course, there was his 2008 endorsement of Obama. After the election, Dick Cheney wondered aloud if Powell still considered himself a Republican at all. In a party that feels down and out, such displays of disloyalty are not exactly welcome. But to win in 2012, Republicans have no choice but to win over millions of voters who, like Powell, backed Obama in 2008.

To that end, Powell could be exactly the presidential candidate Republicans need. Consider Powell's interview with John King on CNN's State of the Union last weekend. For whatever reason--perhaps to preserve his reputation as an independent, above-the-fray voice--the former secretary of state raised serious questions about President Obama's leadership. Powell is convinced that the president is expanding government too much and too quickly, a view he shares with the Republican base. Rather than couch his objections in ideological terms, Powell used the sober language of fiscal responsibility. He didn't advocate limited government for its own sake, and he acknowledged that American voters consider the many issues the White House is tackling to be very important.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2012gopprimary; barfalert; colinpowell; colonpowell; conservatism; liberals; powell; powell2012; powellromney; rino; rinoparty; rinopurge; rinos; rnc; romney; romneypowell
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

No. Next question. And get rid of this idiot while you’re at it, Forbes.


81 posted on 07/14/2009 4:53:01 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (No Representation without Taxation!)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia
He's got to be kidding.

That would be a Pyrrhic victory, indeed. It would be hard to tell where the one racist socialist left off and the next one picked up.

82 posted on 07/14/2009 5:09:18 PM PDT by Pearls Before Swine (Is /sarc really necessary?)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Why not cut out the middleman and give the False Messiah the nomination of both parties ?


83 posted on 07/14/2009 5:29:56 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia
Powell '12: Can the former secretary of state lead the GOP to victory?

He's got to be kidding.

No. Reihan Salam is out of his friggin' mind.

And, probably, a Democrat.

84 posted on 07/14/2009 5:33:56 PM PDT by okie01 (THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA: Ignorance on Parade)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Nope! I’ll stay home if this is our candidate.


85 posted on 07/14/2009 5:39:00 PM PDT by chris_bdba
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To: rightwingintelligentsia
Reihan Salam

Stopped right there.

86 posted on 07/14/2009 5:40:19 PM PDT by TADSLOS (Sarah Palin: Sun Tzu of Politics)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia
Photobucket
87 posted on 07/14/2009 5:51:35 PM PDT by erman (Outside of a dog, a book is man's best companion. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

He’ll have to do it without me...


88 posted on 07/14/2009 6:02:05 PM PDT by umbagi (Who is Jim Thompson?)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Commissar B.O. will probably pick (Mai Lai) Powell as his running mate after he dumps the Gaffe (Joe Biden)!


89 posted on 07/14/2009 6:45:57 PM PDT by leprechaun9
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To: leprechaun9
Powell's ONLY qualification is that his tongue and lips have
been very far up Obama's rectum during Election2008.

That makes him an anti-Republican.

90 posted on 07/15/2009 5:52:35 AM PDT by Diogenesis ("Those who go below the surface do so at their peril" - Oscar Wilde)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Powell had a chance to run in 96, where he could have easily won the nomination and also the Presidential election.

But he chickened out, so when it comes to running for high office Powell is a coward.

As for running in 2012, even Powell does’nt think he has any chance after he endorsed Obama. Who is Powell going to run at, against himself?

These kind of articles prove why journalists are finding themselves increasingly unemployed as the msm media slumps.


91 posted on 07/16/2009 2:23:39 AM PDT by GregH
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