Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama for President of the United States

My thoughts in a moment, But first the video:

Via MSNBC:

Originally, I was going to word this article much differently. But I scrapped it. This is my take on Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama.

At first blush, someone like me would think, “Well, he is endorsing him because he is black.” But I personally believe that it goes much deeper than that. As Colin Powell said in this video, the G.O.P. and John McCain’s campaign took a stance in this election that to even me, was disturbing. McCain and the G.O.P. basically decided to paint Obama as a terrorist by proxy.

I have written in the past on this Blog, that I have been totally disgusted at the way that McCain and the Republican Party have been handling this election and how they have painted Obama. Now, before anyone calls me a hypocrite, let me explain, I totally understand that there has been race baiting on the left. But there has also been calls to incite violence on the right as well. This has been fueled by the inferring of the McCain campaign that Obama is a Black Terrorist by proxy. This was a fatal strategy and it could possibly cause McCain to lose hard in the election. To his credit, McCain did switch gears as of recent and began harping on Obama’s statement of “Spread the Wealth”. Which lead to the liberal take down of “Joe the Plumber”.

However, it is this writers opinion, that it is, quite sadly; too little, too late. The damage is done, independents view McCain and Palin as white racists, who are out to smear and discredit a Christian black man, who is running for President. Not to mention that Economy is just not on the side of the Republicans.

Not to mention how the current President ruined it for the Republicans. His out of control spending, the war in Iraq; which is turning around for the good, much to the chagrin of the Liberals. The attorney general scandal, the spying scandal, it just goes on and on. The fact is that this election is not on the side of the Republicans. It is, as I have written many times before, the Reagan Revolution in reverse.

Which beings me to another point I feel the need to make. The Republican Party and the Conservative Movement has to realize something and it is a realization that is quite a painful one for some to swallow. The Reagan Revolution and era in politics is over. We are living in much different times, than we were in 1980. The problem is, most Conservatives still believe that it is 1980! They need to update their message, make it more relevant for this day and age.

To sum this up, I will basically say this, the endorsement of Barack Obama, by a well-known Black Republican should send a message to the Conservative community that you cannot finger a black man, who is running for President of the United States as a terrorist by proxy, because of his middle name, because of his skin color and because of people he has had past relations with. It just does not work. My only hope is, that the Republican Party and the Conservative Movement as a whole is listening to that message.

Update: My favorite quote from this interview was this:

And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian.  He’s always been a Christian.  But the really right answer is, what if he is?  Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America.  Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?

…

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine.  It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.  And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave.  And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone.  And it gave his awards–Purple Heart, Bronze Star–showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death.  He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross, it didn’t have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith.  And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey.  He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life.

The Photo that Colin Powell is referring to is this: (H/T The New Republic)

My friends, this photo says it all. We are all Americans. No matter what Rush Limbaugh or anyone else from the Republican Party might say. While I may have a disdain for those extremist Muslims, who want to destroy this nation, it is these type of Muslims like Kareem Rashad Sultan that give me hope, that the Extremism in the Muslim Religion can be destroyed once and for all.

I really must wonder, can Michelle Bachman look this woman in the eye and say that she is Un-American?