But the mere fact Powell even associated with the GOP at one time resulted in sheer disdain emanating from many black activists, most notably singer Harry Belafonte. Almost exactly six years ago today, Belafonte had these racially tinged comments about Powell serving in the Bush administration:
"Colin Powell is permitted to come into the house of the master, as long as he will serve the master according to the master's plans," Belafonte said. "And when Colin Powell dares suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned back out to pasture. And you don't hear much from those who live in the pasture."
As it turned out, Powell was anything but a robotic servant during his tenure in the Bush cabinet. It was no secret that he and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had some tense moments regarding the Iraq war. Powell would go on to voluntarily resign his post as Secretary of State upon Bush’s re-election.
And as Powell proved this weekend, he is indeed his own man. So when he says his endorsement of Obama has nothing to do with race, I am inclined to believe him.
The question now is will the major players in the African-American community, who seemingly ostracized Powell for serving in the Bush administration, embrace him now that he has endorsed the first ever black nominee?
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2 comments:
Excellent post, Brad. Really great. Colin will getting his "strange new respect" award in the mail. Postage due.
I'm guessing when he uses the secret decoder ring that comes with it, it will remind him to drink more Ovaltine, too.
Not to toot my own horn, but I opined on Julian Bond's comments back in 2006. Bond of course is the chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). But it seems to me that Bond et al are only concerned with advancing the cause of those blacks who support the liberal agenda.
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