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Colin Powell on Republican Party and race, Obama's spending, and Michael Jackson's legacy
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Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell sat down with CNN's John King for this Sunday morning's "State of the Union" and an "exclusive interview" in which King and Powell discuss the general's passion for community service, his feud with Rush Limbaugh, and his concerns with President Obama's expensive agenda," per the network's promotion. In the interview, Powell also tells King what he thinks about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, the Republican Party's relationship with African-Americans and Hispanics, and his views on affirmative action.
Powell served as Secretary of State under George W. Bush after gaining national attention as the first African-American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Bush's father, President George H. W. Bush. He was a key figure during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the military campaign to end Saddam Hussein's attack on Kuwait.
The influential Republican has a reputation for being level-headed, and so, he raised the ire of more conservative Republicans last year when he endorsed Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama for president and Joe Biden for VP rather than Republican Party hopefuls Sen. John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska of Alaska who is in the news again following her unexpected resignation of that post.
When he announced his endorsement of Obama, Powell laid out a logical argument for his support and cited concern that rhetoric from the McCain campaign that accused Obama of "pallin' around with terrorists," an exaggerated charge launched against Obama at Palin rallies during the presidential race. It seems what many critics called racist attacks from the the McCain-Palin camp that seemed to whip rally-goers into a frenzy swayed Powell from the Republican ticket.
The military man said he felt Obama was "steady" and "a transformational figure." Prominent Republicans such as conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh, who continues to dog Powell and accuses him of not being a Republican, said in 2008 that the general only endorsed Obama because he and Obama are both black.
Bringing up Sotomayor's nomination during his "State of the Union" interview with Powell, King leads the conversation toward a discussion of affirmative action, a policy designed to level the playing field for minorities that some conservatives declare is no longer needed with the election of a black president. They feel affirmative action is "reverse discrimination" that harms white males. King asks for the general's thoughts on the Supreme Court nominee. If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the first Latina on the high court.
Powell says that Sotomayor definitely has a "liberal bent of mind but that is not disqualifying" because she also "seems to have a judicial record that seems to be balanced and tries to follow the law."
What we can't continue to have is to have somebody like a Judge Sotomayor who is announced and based on one simple, tricky, but nonetheless, case that the Supreme Court is now deciding have her called a racist, a reverse racist, and (say) she ought to withdraw her nomination because we're mad at her. Fortunately the senators who will sit on this hearing in the judiciary committee after a few days of this kind of nonsense said, 'Let's slow down. Let's examine her qualifications in the way we're supposed to at a confirmation hearing.'" (Powell to King)
King then draws a quote from Powell's book My American Journey (1995), about racism in the Republican Party. You may may read the quote below from Google Books.
In the My American Journey Powell maintains that he never witnessed "the slightest trace of racial prejudice" from presidents Ronald Reagan or George H. W. Bush but that they were in the Republican Party that demanded blacks pull themselves up by their own bootstraps while refusing to recognize that some blacks did not have boots. The general wrote that he wished Reagan and Bush had shown more sensitivity to that issue.
My American Journey was released in 1995 and so the general is speaking of Bush senior not George W. Bush.
Later in the interview, citing the results of the 2008 presidential election and alluding to Limbaugh and other conservatives who charge that Powell only voted for Obama because he was black, the general indicates the Republican Party still has a racial problem. He also expresses under what circumstances affirmative action still makes sense for America, making a case that some in conservatives reject, that public colleges, for instance, should reflect the public that they serve and private institutions should do similarly.
You can watch King's "State of the Union" interview below. If you do not see the video below, then you may watch it at this link. In an additional clip at CNN from a different interview, Powell has advice for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Speaking to King of Limbaugh's criticism that the general is not a Republican, Powell says, "Mr. Limbaugh is of course entitled to his opinion, but he's not on any membership committee. So, he doesn't get to decide who I am or what I am any more than I decide what he is or who he is."
Of President Obama and whether or not he'll vote for him for a second term, Powell says it's too early to tell. King shows a clip of Powell's speech at the 1996 National Convention in which Powell says government had become too big and intrusive in our lives, and then King asks how Obama stacks up against that message. Powell says he still believes what he said in 1996, but he also believes that "we should have a government that works." He says he doesn't like slogans like "limited government" without a critical look at whether government is solving problems.
Nevertheless, Powell says that while it is too early to decide on Obama's effectiveness, he is "a little concerned" about the number of programs the president would like to initiate when there is not enough money to implement those programs.
King also asks Powell to weigh in on Michael Jackson's death. The general, age 72, says Jackson was a great entertainer who crossed many lines with his skills but that the singer is not really in his generation. Nevertheless, he thinks the King of Pop's "art spans three generations and is worthy of all the tribute he is receiving for his art. Yes," says Powell,"there were some challenges in his life. Yes, there was a great deal of controversy about him, but he's now passed on. Let's celebrate his art."
The interview concludes with Powell talking about what the 4th of July means to him. He says our men and women who've served in the military deserve our respect and the 4th is a good time to remember the sacrifices we made for freedom in the past, to celebrate and praise our flag while not forgetting that we must still fight for our freedoms today.
Powell is also a founder of American Promise, "a cross-sector partnership of more than 300 corporations, nonprofits, faith-based organizations and advocacy groups that are passionate about improving lives and changing outcomes for children." The nonprofit is run by Gen. Powell and his wife, Alma.
Nordette Adams is an Examiner and also a BlogHer.com CE. You may view her RSS feeds at Her411.com, and subscribe to her African-American Books Examiner column at the link below.
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