Colin Powell

The appearance by Colin Powell on Meet the Press this morning was much anticipated. I was awake on the left coast Sunday morning at 6:00AM to catch the live broadcast. The Brokaw interview was artful and Powell was wonderfully well spoken in his answers.

We waited anxiously for the ultimate question. Had Powell made a decision whom to support for the Presidency? His long answer hit all of the bullet points that thoughtful Americans list when considering the same question.

It is always easy, in the long political theater that comprises our presidential election cycle, to revert to type and echo the narrow interest of our particular cohort. Certainly, in this blog, I have warmly embraced the irreverent, the obscene, the cynical or sarcastic, while pushing for my firmly held point of view.

All of us, in our quiet way, love this country. We are justly proud of what it stands for and what is represents, in finest form, both at home and abroad. Just as you can unconditionally love a child but disapprove of its behavior, you may unconditionally love your country while finding fault with its behavior and the course it has chosen.

In considering this election, thoughtful Americans, I believe, can, as did Colin Powell, come to a belief that Barack Obama is the wisest choice for President of the United States.

Many of us have, over the years, respected John McCain, not only for his historic experience, but also for his dedication to independence and his forthright voice of those independent views. We had no illusions that his maverick quality may have simply been an articulate framing of his consistent reckless behavior, going back across the sweep of this life. That recklessness found latest form in his choice of the unqualified Sarah Palin for his Vice-Presidential running mate and his unfocused response to the current economic crisis. As several wise commentators have put it, he hasn't been "Presidential."

At the same time, the Republic Party has been on an ever slippery slope embracing the issues that drive its narrow base of ill-informed, God fearing, "real Americans," whomever they may be.

In the broadest terms, I see this election as the struggle between Fear and Hope. Or, put in the new age context, it is the inherent struggle between Fear and Love.
Fear drives so much of human decision making. Listening to some of the YouTube clips at Palin rally's I have been chilled by the unthinking fear that comes from the lips of her supporters.

In my view, Obama appeals that noble side of our humanity. He is a very thoughtful man who will listen to wise advisors and consider well all of the ramifications of his decisions. He is charismatic and his eloquence is compellling. Is there anything wrong with eloquence? I think not. We need to be uplifted in this dreary time. It is a time that calls for Hope and Love.

Obama, as a man raised in the third culture, will, to use Powell's term, "electrify" the nation and the world. At the same time, I see in him a man of tremendous discipline. His campaign has been the best organized and most focused of any I have witnessed during my lifetime. I believe that all that we do reflects all that we are. Obama's campaign reflects who he is. Leadership does, indeed, come from the top. Through that lenses, John McCain comes up lacking.