John McCain bitterly denounced former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday for supporting President Obama for a second straight election.
“General Powell, you disappoint us and you have harmed your legacy even further by defending what is clearly the most feckless foreign policy in my lifetime,” McCain told Brian Kilmeade on his radio program.
In 2008, Powell’s late backing of Obama over McCain was one of the most widely-covered endorsements of the campaign.
Once again, Powell weighed in towards the end of the race this week, telling CBS News that he stands by the president based on his first term performance on the economy and foreign policy alike. According to Powell, he witnessed “the president get us out of one war, start to get us out of a second war and did not get us into any new wars. And finally I think that the actions he has taken with respect to protecting us from terrorism have been very very solid. And so, I think we ought to keep on the track that we are on.”
He also had some tough words for Mitt Romney, whom McCain has backed since early in the Republican primaries.
“I’m not quite sure which Gov. Romney we would be getting with respect to foreign policy,” Powell said, citing his shifting positions on Afghanistan, Iraq, and other key policy debates. He added that “my concern … is that sometimes I don’t sense that he has thought through these issues as thoroughly as he should have.”
Benjy Sarlin
Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
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