Graham casts doubt over Powell’s GOP credentials

Colin Powell’s endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is a sign that he was never truly a Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) asserted on Sunday. 

“I don’t think you could really have ever been a Republican if you believe raising taxes and increasing spending at this time in our economy is a good idea,” Graham, one of Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s closest allies, said on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

{mosads}Powell last week gave Obama a boost when he announced that he would support the Illinois senator in his quest for the White House.

A retired Army general, Powell was President George W. Bush’s first secretary of state and served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush and as national security adviser under President Reagan.

“I have watched an individual who has intellectual vigor and who dives deeply into issues and approaches issues with a very, very steady hand,” Powell said of Obama on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last week.

Graham suggested that the prospect of the next president appointing new Supreme Court judges was partly behind Powell’s support for Obama.

“I think one of the reasons he didn’t want to support Sen. McCain is he was worried about the judges that would be picked, and he believes that Senator Obama has a better plan,” Graham stated.

“When it comes to judges, they just disagree,” he said of Powell and McCain (Ariz.), the latter of whom supported President George W. Bush’s nominations of two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.

Powell’s imprimatur could have the effect of bolstering Obama’s credentials on foreign policy issues, an area in which the freshman senator has little experience.

As McCain and Republicans have done throughout the presidential campaign, Graham sought to highlight Obama’s inexperience and called him “dangerous” on foreign affairs.

“John McCain understands this world far better than Barack Obama understood Iraq, Iran and Russia,” Graham said, adding, “Sen. Obama would be a very dangerous choice for president of the United States when it comes to foreign policy.”

House Democratic Caucus Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), also appearing on the program, did not rebut Graham’s arguments but contended that Obama’s cool temperament makes him more suited to the presidency than McCain.

Emanuel cited McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate and his decision to “suspend” his presidential campaign to work on the Wall Street bailout bill as evidence that McCain is “impulsive.”

“Barack Obama has shown the qualities the American people are responding to, with the selection of both the vice president and the way John McCain handled the financial crisis, the American people say we can’t afford that impulsive, erratic behavior,” Emanuel argued.

Rather than engage Graham in a detailed foreign policy debate, Emanuel focused on economic issues, in keeping with the Obama campaign’s so-far successful strategy.

“The American people know that, on a fundamental economic level, Barack Obama and the Democrats represent change, to the Republicans and John McCain, who have offered more of the same of what George Bush had,” Emanuel said.

Emanuel, a White House aide during the Clinton administration, eluded a question about his role under a potential Obama administration. Asked whether he would consider serving as White House chief of staff, Emanuel said, “I'm looking forward to representing the people of the North Side of the city of Chicago.”