WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell declined Tuesday to renew the presidential endorsement he gave Barack Obama four years ago, saying he wasn’t ready “to throw my weight behind someone” at this time.
The former chairman of the military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and Cabinet member under President George W. Bush demurred when asked if he was backing Obama again. A longtime GOP figure, Powell caused a stir in Republican political circles four years ago by endorsing Obama over war hero Sen. John McCain, calling Obama a “transformational figure.”
Not so this time, Powell said on NBC’s Today show. At least, not yet.
“It’s not just a matter of whether you support Obama or [Mitt] Romney. It’s who they have coming in with them,” he said.
Pressed to say why he was holding back on giving Obama his blessing a second time, Powell said: “I always keep my powder dry, as they say in the military.”
He said Obama had “stabilized the financial system” after the deep recession of 2008-2009 and had “fixed the auto industry.” Powell also said he thought that the country was on the right path toward ending the war in Afghanistan.
But he also said he thought that Obama needed to work more on the economy, and said he thought he owed it to the Republican Party to listen to the proposals that likely nominee Romney will be offering, particularly on the economy.
Powell said he’s “still listening” to Republican ideas, calling Romney “a good man” and saying he wasn’t ready to make a commitment to Obama.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said Obama appreciated Powell’s endorsement four years ago.
Meanwhile Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden joined the debate over Romney’s tenure at a private-equity firm, arguing that Romney’s experience there doesn’t make him any more qualified to be president than it does to make him a plumber.
“That doesn’t mean that private-equity guys are bad guys — they’re not,” Biden said at New Hampshire’s Keene State College. “But that no more qualifies you to be president than being a plumber. And, by the way, there’re an awful lot of smart plumbers. All kidding aside, it’s not the same job requirement.”
Romney argues that his business experience with the Boston-based firm Bain Capital makes him best suited to fix the economy and create jobs.
Also Tuesday, an independent group seeking to oust Obama launched a new TV ad Tuesday suggesting Obama had let down the voters who vaulted him into the White House in 2008.
A pro-Obama group answered with an ad slamming Romney featuring a woman who lost her job at a factory that closed after it was bought by the private-equity firm Romney co-founded.
The new $10 million ad campaign by the conservative-leaning group Crossroads GPS will air in 10 swing states, part of a $25 million ad buy the group announced last week.
The other ad, by the Obama-supporting Priorities USA Action, a “super” political action committee founded by former Obama White House staff members, is as part of a five-state, $4 million ad buy the group announced last week.
Information for this article was contributed by Holly Ramer, Beth Fouhy and staff of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 8 on 05/23/2012