Why the Powell Endorsement (Could) Matter

[tw]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Then he is definitely not a trustworthy person to listen to for an endorsement.

Powell did what any good soldier would have done in his position. He committed to making that speech regardless of what the facts were - as defined by the dinner with George Jr, Laura, and Condi Rice. Powell had no choice. Powell is not under orders to endorse Obama.

[tw]

Originally Posted by classicman

Here ya go Sarge

Of the thousands of retired admirals and generals, he could only get 300 endorsements?

Curiously missing on that list are a long list of Generals who have served in "Mission Accomplished" and then retired.

[Big Sarge]

Thank you for the link. That is quite an impressive list. I just wish Hal Moore's name was on it

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by tw

Powell did what any good soldier would have done in his position. He committed to making that speech regardless of what the facts were -

Then he is definitely not a trustworthy person to listen to for an endorsement.

[Elspode]

Retired General and former Secretary of State Colin Powell is obviously a freedom hating terrorist.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Big Sarge

Thank you for the link. That is quite an impressive list.

Impressive? Just about every American military commander that has done anything of significance is not on McCain's list. Collected a list of every military commander I could find that served and were significant in "Mission Accomplished", Desert Storm, Operation Provide Comfort, Iraq Study Group, 911 Commission, Joint Chiefs, Katrina, and just about anything else of significance in the past decade. Not one General or Admiral is on McCain's support list. These are Generals and Admirals that actually led units into combat, were fully involved in responding to 11 September, were involved in the many analysis groups including the Iraq Study Group or Duelfer Report, or had some other major decisions or actions that resulted in major news events. IOW if the commander did something of significance, he is probably listed below:
Abizaid, Hawkins, Warden, Gardner, Kimmons, Batiste, Casey, Sharp, Schwartz, Myers, Jones (James), Nash, Franks (neither Generals Fred nor Tommy), Pace, Miller, Honore, McKiernan, Hooker, Zinni, Kellogg, Newbold, Shinseki, Sanchez, Eikenberry, Fast, Swannack, Jumper, Dempsey, Karpinski, Chiarelli, Marks, Clark (Adm Vern), Shelton, Dayton, Fry (Scott), Hayden, Wald, Giambastiani, Conway, Peterson, Zilmer, Scowcroft, Keane, Schultz, Ralston, Ellis (Adm Jim), Sullivan, Taguba, Kern, Hill (Gen Paul), Arnold, Eberhart, Wherley, Canavan, Schoomaker, Boykin, Gration, Minihan, McKinley, Steele, Jeremiah, Leidig, Abbot, Wilson, Schwarzkopf, Johnson (Gen Robert B), Waller, Dugan, Grogan, McPeak, McConnell, Wickham, Meyer, Horner, Glosson, Arthur, Boomer, Yeosock, Schwarz, Gabriel, Olsen, Pagonis, Hoar, Shalikashvili, Saint, Crowe, Gray, and Fallon.

Not a single commander is on McCain's list of supporters.

[Undertoad]

Karpinski?? Nobody wants that endorsement.

Here is a list of Obama's military supporters but it sure looks like they didn't do anything meaningful either, only one of them is on your list:

• John Adams, Brigadier General US Army (Ret), Former Deputy US Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee [243]
• Clifford Alexander, Jr., former Secretary of the Army[189]
• Susan Ahn Cuddy, first female gunner officer in the U.S. Navy and daughter of Korean Independence fighter Ahn Chang-ho[244]
• Wesley Clark, former General, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO, 2004 presidential candidate[57]
• Tom Daniels, Texas Air National Guard[189]
• Richard Danzig, former Secretary of the Navy[189]
• Larry Gillespie, Brigadier General (Ret), Assistant Deputy Commanding General, (ARNG) Army Material Command[245]
• Scott Gration Major General (USAF-Ret), former Director of Strategy, Policy, and Assessments of the United States European Command in Germany[245]
• Donald Joseph Guter, former Judge Advocate General of the Navy, current Dean, Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh[189][245]
• Richard D. Hearney, former Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps[189]
• John Hutson, former Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Navy[246]
• Jeh Johnson, former General Counsel of the U.S. Air Force[189]
• Lester Lyles, former Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force[189]
• David 'Dave' McGinnis, Brigadier General (Ret), former Chief of Staff of the National Guard Association of the U.S.[245]
• Merrill A. McPeak, four star General (Ret), former Secretary of the United States Air Force during Operation Desert Storm, [245][247][248]
• John B. Nathman (Ret), former Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Vice Chief of Naval Operations[189][245]
• F. Whitten Peters, former Secretary of the Air Force[189]
• Hugh Robinson, Major General (Ret), Commander of the Southwestern Division[245]
• James Smith, Brigadier General (USAF-Ret), former Commander, Joint Warfighting Center, U.S. Joint Forces Command, Joint Training Analysis and Simulation Center[189][245]
• Robert 'Willie' Williamson Rear Admiral (USN-Ret), served as military Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition and Director, Office of Program Appraisal.
• Ralph Wooten Major General (Ret), former Commanding General of the Army’s Chemical Arsenal, currently the Executive Vice President of Management Systems, Inc.[245]

[lookout123]

I've always felt that retired flag rank officers that make endorsements are just attention seeking whores.

And for the record, having Merrill McPeak endorse a candidate should actually remove credibility points.