Did Powell sell out for a high level job in an Obama White House?

By Rick Moran

Listen to what Obama himself is saying:

Colin Powell will have a role as a top presidential adviser in an Obama administration, the Democratic White House hopeful said Monday.

"He will have a role as one of my advisers," Barack Obama said on NBC's "Today" in an interview aired Monday, a day after Powell, a four-star general and President Bush's former secretary of state, endorsed him.

"Whether he wants to take a formal role, whether that's a good fit for him, is something we'd have to discuss," Obama said.

Being a top presidential adviser, especially on foreign policy, would be familiar ground to Powell on a subject that's relatively new to the freshman Illinois senator. Obama has struggled to establish his foreign policy credentials against GOP candidate John McCain, a decorated military veteran, former prisoner of war and ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Powell wouldn't be the first to cross party lines and endorse a candidate with the promise of future job opportunities. And from Obama's standpoint, it makes perfect sense. Powell as Secretary of Defense or State (or even National Security Advisor) could be seen as Obama "reaching out" to Republicans to staff his administration.

Just how "Republican" Powell is might be open to debate. But what would the truth matter by then? Powell would have little chance for a high level job in a McCain administration and if he is inclined to get back to being a Washington mover and shaker, Obama was realistically his only choice.

Barack Obama: Change you can buy and sell.

Hat Tip: Ed Lasky