Colin Powell Critical of President Obama

[Locke9-05]

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president in 2008 despite serving three Republican presidents, said Sunday that Obama needs to change his approach in the White House because voters are feeling overwhelmed by sweeping new laws that expand the scope of government.

“The president also has to ... shift the way in which he has been doing things,” Powell said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The American people feel that too many programs have come down. There are so many rocks in our knapsack now that we’re having trouble carrying it.”

Powell, a retired Army general, who was national security adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush and who ran the State Department for President George W. Bush, said Obama must focus “like a razor blade” on employment, giving the same level of attention to creating jobs — and bringing down the 9.6 percent unemployment rate — as he did to passing bills overhauling health care and reforming education.

“I understand the importance of all of that,” Powell said, referring to Obama’s signature legislative accomplishments. “But as far as the American people are concerned, the main attack is employment.”

Powell’s critique is noteworthy, given his decision in the 2008 election to spurn Republican John McCain — a fellow Vietnam veteran and personal friend — to back Obama, whom he described as offering “generational change.” The president has continued to consult with Powell in the White House.

“He has lost some of the ability to connect that he had during the campaign,” Powell said. “And it is not just me picking on the president. It’s reflected in the polling. Some of the anxiety and anger that you see out there, I think, comes from a belief on the part of the American people — whether it’s correct or incorrect, and the White House would say it’s incorrect — that ... his singular focus should be on employment.”

Powell declined to say whether he would endorse Obama and the Democratic ticket in 2012, adding that he will evaluate him and a Republican candidate as Election Day nears.

But Powell did praise the president, saying he still considers Obama a “transformational figure.”

“Some people don’t like what he has done in transformation,” Powell said. “And it’s caused him some difficulty. But the fact of the matter is, he did put together a health care reform. It’s not perfect. And I think it’ll have to be fixed over time. And a lot of people are not happy with that health care reform. But he did it.”

Nevertheless, Powell said, he still considers himself a Republican.

“Yes, why shouldn’t I?” Powell said Sunday, adding that he hasn’t thought about leaving the party.

“I still think that there is a need for a two-party system,” Powell said. “And that the Republican Party still has strength in it. It has strength with respect to its feelings about foreign policy and defense policy and our place in the world. And I’m not happy with the rightward switch, [the] shift that the party has taken. And I’ve said this on many occasions.

“And so, I’m not about to give up,” he said.

Powell also leveled some criticism at the GOP for embracing positions that are hostile to immigrants.

“They’ve got to take a hard look at some of the positions they’ve been taking,” Powell said. “We can’t be anti-immigration, for example. Because immigrants are fueling this country. Without immigrants [the U.S.] would be like Europe or Japan, with an aging population and no young people coming in to take care of it. We have to educate our immigrants.”

Powell, the son of immigrants who rose through the ranks of the Army, said that Congress should approve the DREAM Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for young illegal immigrants who attend college for two years or join the military.

“America is going to be a minority nation in one more generation,” Powell said. “Our minorities are not getting educated well enough now. Fifty percent of our minority kids are not finishing high school. We’ve got to invest in education. We should use the DREAM Act as one way to do it. Whether it should be part of the defense bill or not is something the Congress will decide.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will offer the DREAM Act this week as an amendment to the defense authorization bill. The chances of passage are uncertain, as Republicans who have supported the initiative in the past say it should not be tacked onto a spending bill.

Source: Politico - Colin Powell Critical of President Obama

I agree with Powell on his talking points. I think the American people feel overburdened by all the social programs that are hitting them all at once. I most definitely agree that the main focus of this administration should be increasing employment and enabling people to find employment. I think too much effort is being focused on supporting the jobless and too little effort on creating jobs for them. Don't get me wrong, I think that supporting the poor and programs for the unemployed are needed. However, I think that the government is not doing enough to try and get those who are at least ABLE to work jobs so that they can then go to work and make a living and pay back into the system.

[Kazikli Bey]

The question is, how is the government going to create jobs? I agree with you that the president needs to attack the unemployment rate, but there is only so much he can do, the rest should be up to the free market. All he can do is optimise the possibilities of the market to lessen the unemployment rate.

I think that part of the problem though is that many American companies are either outsourcing or using illegal immigrants. Making illegal immigrants legal won't do much because there is always going to be a flow of illegal immigrants looking for work. What needs to be done is to encourage the creation of small businesses or make it easier for small business to operate and employ.

[Locke9-05]

Yeah I know it's a tough spot to be in. I wouldn't want to be in Obama's shoes right now, what with his approval rating and all the things he's got to at least try to fix. I agree that part of the problem is outsourcing and employing illegal immigrants. I think you hit the nail on the head in terms of what needs to be done--encouraging the creation of small local businesses and making it easier for small businesses to operate.

[Chuq]

This is a post I had on my blog about small business and the Prez....

http://lobotero.wordpress.com/2010/0...ll-businesses/

I am beginning to think that the window of opportunity for the Prez is quickly sliding shut....

[Kazikli Bey]

This is a post I had on my blog about small business and the Prez....

http://lobotero.wordpress.com/2010/0...ll-businesses/

I am beginning to think that the window of opportunity for the Prez is quickly sliding shut....

You're right. Demand is needed but then Obama is in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. He's got to somehow create demand, an actual demand with little government intervention (he can't do the Russian thing which was the for the government to buy the products) because all the Republican and TEA parties will do is shout at them for 'expanding the government'. But then, he can't do what every Republican says is the best course of action (nothing) because then they'll blame him for being asleep at the wheel.

So, how then can we create demand without necessarily having the government intervening too much? But a real demand by the consumers, not a false demand.

[W.E.B. Du Bois]

I've been kind of thinking about how well/poorly the Obama administration has done since it took office. I am starting to think that Obama did partially take his eye off the ball, as far as the economy is concerned. He did this to enact healthcare, the debate over which took about a year to settle. I think that Obama really had to do that, but still the fact remains that it caused him to lose some initiative in fixing the economy. The GOP is saying no to everything, even to small business tax cuts (they finally said yes to them after several months), so that means that the President only has a small amount of political capital.

I think George Will said something smart: the height of Obama's political power is behind him. Even if he is re-elected in 2012, he will never again have the political power that he had in 2009. The GOP will most likely say no to any of his major initiatives (Cap and Trade, Employee Free Choice Act, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, etc). Obama really has to channel Bill Clinton and meet the GOP somewhere (don't know if the point exists) where they can agree to go forward and fix problems.