Colin Powell endorses Obama for second term

Anyway, does anyone actually know the issues on which Powell would claim he differs from Obama? I wonder which elements of his professed Republican "personal platform" stand in opposition to Obama's? In short, why is he a Republican, and why as a Republican doesn't he support the Republican candidate?

 

Good questions. I read his autobiography when it came out (it was a gift.) IIRC, he's somewhat of a fiscal conservative so I suppose he would object to Obama's spending sprees. I know he opposed Don't Ask, Don't Tell. He's pro-choice, pro gay marriage. I guess the only other thing differentiating him from Obama would be keeping the military the same size or growing it.

 

Powell is voting for Obama because he is black. Nothing more.

 

One has to be careful not to under-emphasize the race element involved... As I finished my second tour in Iraq I chatted with a young black Soldier who inspected the stuff I was mailing home. We got to talking politics and he told me he was voting for Obama for no reason other than shared race. He justified this decision with something along the lines of, "Well, we're both black so he's the only candidate out there who can actually relate to me." Years have passed so I do not recall all the specifics, but I seem to remember asking him if his decision amounted to racism, which he of course denied. One would naturally wonder then if a white guy choosing to NOT vote for Obama due to his race would therefore constitute racism. I'm pretty sure I asked this young man, and I do not recall ever getting a response back.

It may very well be that Powell deeply values something about Obama's race. I do not know that to be the case, so I won't say that is the only reason he endorsed him again. Do we know, however, that race is not a factor for Powell? Anyone have any familiarity with his statements on the matter?

Hopefully I've made my point clear. I'm still a wee bit tired.

 

Here is an amusing video eye opener for you!


http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/09/24/howard_stern_interviews_obama_supporters_2012.html

 

And there are plenty of white people who will not vote for him because he's Black. That also must not be under-emphasized.

But let's not confuse prejudice with racism.

 

We of course need to substantiate that claim. Who (outside of the Klan, which is a given) refuses to vote for Obama because he is black? Not saying they're not out there, I'm just not familiar with them.

You'll have to clarify this comment. Not sure what you're getting at.


And I guess it turns out John Sununu stated that he believes Powell's endorsement is more about race than political platforms. Anyone see what Powell actually has to say on the matter?

 

Just because we're not familiar with them doesn't mean there aren't a lot of them. This election has brought out the real ugly in folks. And I would venture that there are now lot more than we think who don't have a problem admitting it.

Folks confuse the two. Racism is about believing you have an inherent degree of power over someone else because of your skin color.

Prejudice is a bias for one thing over another.

And this speaks to Sununu's own prejudice as he thinks that Powell couldn't have a reason other than race for supporting a black candidate. Is he is supporting Romney because he's white?

 

To Rino , Powell, it's all about race.