Leave Colin Powell Alone

I’ve been wondering for a while now if Colin Powell would come out again in support of Barack Obama. I was pleased when he did because I really like and respect Colin Powell. Colin Powell is a republican who is planning to vote for a democrat. That is a beautiful thing. As I have argued in previous posts, I think it’s a horrible idea to vote strictly along party lines. It is our responsibility as Americans to vote for the people who we believe are the best candidates. You should never say, “Well he’s a republican, I can’t vote for him.” The real question is whether you agree with a lot of his policies and whether you trust him. I don’t have a political affiliation. I’m voting for Barack Obama in this election, but truthfully, if Colin Powell was running, I would be voting for him. Powell is everything that a leader should be.

I didn’t expect the backlash from Romney’s team. John Sununu, a co-chair of Romney’s campaign, went on television and accused Powell of voting for Obama because he was black. Sununu later tried to backpedal and say that he was friends with Powell. If I was Powell, and my “friend” went on national television and called me an idiot, I’m not sure how close friends we would be afterwards. Before anyone corrects me and says that Sununu didn’t call Powell an idiot, let me first explain what I mean. Only a foolish person votes for or against a presidential candidate solely because of race. By Sununu insinuating that race was Powell’s motivation, he was implying that Powell was an idiot.

While I’m on the subject of race and the election, I feel the need to address something that has been ticking me off ever since 2008. Statistically speaking, the majority of the black vote has gone to the democratic presidential candidate since 1936. Though Al Gore and John Kerry lost their presidential bids, according to Gallup, Gore received 95% and Kerry received 93% of the black vote. I find it highly offensive that when the majority of the black vote goes to white democratic candidates, blacks are voting that way because they traditionally support the democratic platform, but when the majority of the black vote goes to a black democratic candidate, blacks are voting that way because he’s black. Get real!

 As for the myth that all black people support Obama, I know a few people who are counterexamples. Believe it or not, some black people are planning to vote for Romney. *Gasp* No your eyes didn’t deceive you: some black people are going to vote for Romney. It shouldn’t be a big deal. People should vote for the candidate who they believe in.

Now back to this Sununu thing. Romney’s co-chair inserted race in to the discussion then Romney’s backers became upset when the “liberal” media wanted to talk about Sununu’s comments. Here’s a hint for Romney’s camp: If you don’t want people talking about race then stop talking about race and making racially charged statements because you know that the “liberal” media won’t ignore it.