Powell as a McCain VP?

This surprised me more than it should have. The Politico is reporting Colin Powell is being considered for VP by the McCain Camp. Not long ago Bill Kristol reported there was speculation that Powell would actually endorse Obama.

Pro's (from a conservative standout):
Flawless Military career
"Celebrity" status
Former Sec of State
Not another old white guy

Cons
Pro choice
Never seemed comfortable in Bush administration,
Has stated repeatedly that he doesnt want the job.

So what would be the fallout? Would he help or hurt McCain?


[edit on 23-8-2008 by GD]

[edit on 23-8-2008 by GD]

[edit on 23-8-2008 by GD]

[edit on 23-8-2008 by GD]

Personally I think that Powell could hurt McCain more than help him:
He was viewed as a more moderate than most of the other members of the Bush admin., where as McCain will need a more conservative running mate to shore up the conservative vote.

Remember that he was a key figure in delivering the erroneous information on Iraqi WMD programs to congress(although at the behest of Dick cheney), Dems will jump on that in a heartbeat.

And he may not be another old white guy, but he is still an old guy, and I think he needs someone younger in the white house. Remember its not always about politics, the V.P. does need to be able to carry on the rest of the term as well should the president die

Colin Powell does however have upside to him: His popularity rating never wavered much through the tumultuous first term, and being from Harlem he could garner alot of working class voters, but he just hasn't shown much political interest in the four years since hes been gone from the white house.

reply to post by GD


Powell would be a good choice. McCain knows the conservatives will vote Republican no matter who he picks. He needs the independent and Reagan Democrat vote.
A negative is Powell is in his 60s. McCain will probably choose someone a little younger to counter the "age" issue.

I just don't see this happening, for whatever reason. My gut feeling is that Powell was disgusted at his actions as part of the Bush administration, completely jaded and disenfranchised. I think it would take a lot for him to willingly become part of the same sort of administration a second time, and I just can't imagine what that would be.

Powell would be a bad choice because of his stance in opposition of Iraq, among other things.

see Powell opposes Surge

reply to post by Andrew E. Wiggin


Good find. The fact Sen. McCain has been hammering Sen. Obama on his opposition to the surge would rule out Mr Powell. Can you see the Democrats having fun with it if he did?

Originally posted by Inannamute
I just don't see this happening, for whatever reason. My gut feeling is that Powell was disgusted at his actions as part of the Bush administration, completely jaded and disenfranchised. I think it would take a lot for him to willingly become part of the same sort of administration a second time, and I just can't imagine what that would be.

Actually, that might be a very good way for McCain to demonstrate to voters that a vote for him is not a vote for "more of the same", especially if he could convince Powell to run with him.

As I understand it, Powell didn't want any part of the office of POTUS because of the corruption he observed there, but with the current political cabinet gone and if McCain made promises to sweep out the trash then Powell's interest just might be piqued, as would the voters. I think voters see Colin Powell as a morally strong person and any attempt by the Democrats to smear him would just make them look bad in the eyes of the public.

I think it would be a great idea, but there again, McCain would have to convince Powell that his intent to change things is quite sincere.