Colin Powell provides Obama with dual opportunities against McCain

The way in which Colin Powell endorsed Obama yesterday morning has given the Democratic campaign a window of opportunity to take it to John McCain. In case you missed Powell's statement, you can view the interview here - his thoughts on the candidates begin at approximately 6:30 into this video:



Powell gives two openings - to respond to the ways in which McCain has tried to drive a wedge over faith, and to preemptively attack the new McCain shift toward calling Obama's economic policies socialist. From the Meet the Press interview:



I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.

The story about Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan will resonate with countless people around this country, and Powell invokes it clearly and effectively. It is a brutal strike at the heart of the nastiness of the McCain tactics. Andrew Sullivan provides links to much of today's resulting coverage here - with the notable image that Powell mentions here.

Powell's eloquence gives weight to the charge that McCain has been divisive in and about his rallies, and will likely yield lead to stronger objections to the strategy. Even Chris Wallace raises the issue with John McCain on Fox News, asking the Senator directly about his use of Bill Ayers in robocalls to voters in swing states:



We are only going to see more of this type of rhetoric going forward, and the Obama campaign knows it. They should take the opportunity that Powell's endorsement presents - to fight back hard on McCain's ethics in this campaign. And it appears that they will do just that.

Joe Biden gave a rousing speech yesterday afternoon in Tacoma, Washington and offered his reactions to Powell's endorsement:



From CNN's coverage:

“From the very beginning, this Republican party has tried to suggest that Barack Obama, Senator Barack Obama, wasn’t ready to be commander-in-chief,” said the Delaware senator to more than 11,000 supporters in a minor league ballpark, his biggest crowd to date when campaigning without Obama.

“With all the three and four star generals, with the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the former National Security Adviser, the former Secretary of State, one of the most respected men who have ever worn the uniform, endorsing Barack Obama over John McCain today, no more questions! Barack Obama will be a commander-in-chief we can all respect!”

CNN also offers the later rhetoric in Biden's speech. Notably:

"So don’t anyone even indirectly imply to me that there’s one more patriotic part of the country than another part of the country!” Biden thundered to loud applause from the crowd. It doesn’t matter where you live, it doesn’t matter your color, it doesn’t matter your religion, we are all Americans! We’re all Americans! Governor Palin may have stepped back from some of the divisive rhetoric she’s been using, but the Republican Party has stepped up their attacks that are just as divisive.”

Biden has hit on what seems to be his new role as the campaign's attack dog. I am willing to bet Biden will hammer this point home in every stump speech he gives from now until November 4. It is a unification message, an inclusive message and a positive one in the face of very divisive, frightening attacks that appeal to a very emotional base - "we are all Americans" is powerful rhetoric. It is precisely the message that Powell's invocation of Khan solidifies as a new message to the Obama campaign.

Khan, in many ways, could become the Democrats' version of Joe the Plumber - a normal individual, an American hero, representative of a broad cross-section of this country. It is a reminder of the religious and cultural freedoms that make this country great - a reminder that we've found long and hard to prevent exactly the type of divisions that McCain/Palin's rhetoric is enabling. A reminder of ALL of the people that put Country First. The door has been opened to have this narrative take hold.

As much as some partisan Democrats and Republicans loathe to admit it, Colin Powell is one of the most respected figures in American politics. Sure - some liberal Democrats criticize him for his role in the Bush administration and the Iraq war, and loyal Republicans haven't forgiven him for his vocal opposition of the party - and his endorsement will only fuel GOP critiques. But people trust Colin Powell, they believe him, and they like him. By and large, Americans view Powell as a man who has dedicated himself to service of this country in an honorable and honest fashion, without appearing to act out of self-interest or hubris. This perception, combined with his obvious experience and qualifications, makes his judgment unimpeachable in the minds of much of the American public. His pointed critiques of McCain are devastating.

But he did more for Obama this morning that allow him to address the past few weeks' strategies. In answering questions from reporters after his appearance on Meet the Press, Powell spoke specifically to foreign affairs, emphasizing the ways McCain's divisive strategies damage our standing in the world. View his comments after appearing on Meet this Press this morning here:



I mean, think about that - how do Europeans, Asians, Africans view the ways in which Americans spew hatred at McCain/Palin's rallies, a couple of which I've posted here? What does this say about us? How does it impact our standing, our credibility, and the respect the world has for our country? And isn't that important?

They are powerful questions. I'm afraid I know the answers - and I wonder what that would mean if McCain/Palin were to win on the back of these arguments.

Finally, Powell opens up an opportunity for Obama and Biden to strike back against the charges of socialism that have become the new focal point of the McCain strategy. Powell's remarks after Meet the Press echo many moderate conservatives - those who don't like to pay taxes, but see the new economic news as an unfortunate reality that may demand they concede the issue:

Taxes are always a redistribution of money. Most of the taxes that are redistributed go back to those who pay them - in roads and airports, hospitals and schools. And taxes are necessary for the common good, and there is nothing wrong with examining what our tax structure is or who should be paying more and who should be paying less. And for us to say that that makes you a socialist I think is an unfortunate characterization that isn't accurate.

I don't want my taxes raised, I don't want anybody else's taxes raised. But I also want to see our infrastructure fixed, I don't want to have a $12 trillion national debt, and I don't want to see an annual deficit that's over $500 billion and heading toward $1 trillion. So how do we deal with all of this?

Many, many people identify with these words. Republicans don't want to be taxed more than they are, but they also recognize the serious mess that we're currently in - and the fact remains that McCain's economic policies would more closely mirror those of a Bush administration that failed to act to prevent this crisis. Obama's plan is simply not socialism - it is just another way of looking at taxation. Thoughtful Americans can all agree on that point.

And that's opportunity two - Powell has opened the battle against McCain's socialism charge. Again, Powell's gravity as a figure both honorable and bipartisan strengthens his statements - and he articulates them with poise and clarity. To older generations of Americans, socialism is a scary word - on par with terrorism in today's climate. If they can defuse the issue before it takes greater hold, it removes one more weapon in McCain's arsenal of dirty tricks as we get closer to election day. Obama and Biden should seize upon his message as a rational, reasonable explanation for Obama's tax policies, and continue to question the McCain's campaign ethics in distorting the facts to prey upon peoples' fears.

UPDATE: Obama begins to integrate this response into his stump speech. View him here in North Carolina:



Will McCain ultimately end up shifting to the center if these tactics fail in the closing days of the campaign? Perhaps it depends on how swift and effective Obama's reaction to this latest attack is.