Powell not sold on Obama? Who cares?

By Michael J.W. Stickings

ABC News is reporting that Colin Powell hasn't made up his mind yet about 2012:

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who famously crossed party lines to vote for President Obama in 2008, said today that he's not necessarily supporting the president for reelection in 2012.

"I haven't decided who I’m going to vote for," Powell said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "Just as was the case in 2008, I am going to watch the campaign unfold. In the course of my life I have voted for Democrats, I have voted for Republicans, I have changed from one four-year cycle to another.

"I've always felt it my responsibility as a citizen to take a look at the issues, examine the candidates, and pick the person that I think is best qualified for the office of the president in that year. And not just solely on the basis of party affiliation," he said.

Asked about the Republican field, Powell said there are some "interesting candidates," but no one who has "emerged into the leading position."

"So let's see if anybody else is going to join, and we've got a long way to go," he added.

Oh please. This is just Powell being Powell, pumping up his own credibility by refusing to take sides, much to the admiration of the media, which gives him a platform to opine regardless of whether he has anything to say or not. All he has to do is open his mouth and the media start drooling.

It's not that I didn't appreciate Powell's support for Obama in '08 -- of course I did -- it's that I tired long ago of his "above-the-fray" act. Is it sincere? Maybe, sort of. He's not an ideologue and, sure, he goes both ways. But it always seems to be about him, about self-aggrandizement, about making himself out to be the arbiter of American politics -- or at least enough of one to hold the media's attention.

But does it matter? Is Powell at all relevant these days?

What's more, it's just silly now, this act of his. What exactly has Obama done to turn off Powell? Obama's been just the sort of centrist Powell purports to like, a get-things-done technocrat, a fellow non-ideologue who wants so badly to remain above the partisan fray. It would seem to me that Powell would be enamored of Obama, more so certainly than the progressives Obama has more or less shunned since taking office.

Okay, fine, Powell can certainly take his time to "examine the candidates" and make up his mind, but is there really anyone on this Republican side he likes? He may find someone like Huntsman interesting, but he's way back. Maybe Romney? Maybe, but doubtful. Romney has been trying hard to portray himself as a right-wing extremist of the sort that gets Republicans frothing at the mouth -- no, maybe not as extreme as Bachmann or Perry, but he's hardly a Powell-style centrist anymore, at least judging by the campaign positions he's taking. And who else would enter the race who could secure Powell's support? Giuliani? Maybe. But, even then, he's further away from Powell than Obama is -- these days, anyway.

So, whatever. I don't really blame Powell for (not yet) endorsing Obama, and it's not like he's out there trying to influence the campaign. I just find his schtick tiresome. And the media's fawning even more so.

(photo)