The endorsement of Barack Obama by Colin Powell was a not a surprise to most people, however the words that he used did leave some speechless. Mr. Powell basically stated the way the McCain campaign was behaving in attacking Barak Obama was wrong; he went on to say that bringing up Ayers was a very divisive tactic and fueling a great deal of anger and hate by McCain supporters. He seemed to share the sentiment of former President Bill Clinton who said today in Reno, NV he was not going to put down McCain’s character as a person in order to support Senator Obama. The truth is the campaign Obama has run is not politics as usual and Mr. Obama has made a great amount of effort to make his campaign positive. However, he could not take attacks on him lying down and when attacked he had to attack right back. The truth is this campaign run by the junior Illinois Senator will be a model for future campaigns in running negative free campaigns. As Secretary Powell and President Clinton both said we have a number of problems in this county and these problems do not just effect blacks or whites, straight or gays, men or women and regardless of who wins it is going to take all of us to work together, division is not an option. And for candidates to fuel hate is unacceptable and very dangerous. Each campaign must do a better job of bringing this country together.
The part of Colin Powell’s’ endorsement that was the most effective was his story about the Muslim women who was pictured at her son’s grave who died in Iraq This issue came up because many people accused Obama of being a Muslim . Mr. Powell went on to say that Obama is not a Muslim he is a Christian but the real answer to that question is What is wrong with being a Muslim?” This question was very compelling and so moving and truthful. I truly believe this is one of the great lessons of this campaign and I hope America gets it. The truth is the country was built on the promise that one day “All men and women would be created equal” but what is so sad is that most of the people who carry the flag and claim to be such Patriots, do not want what the forefathers intended for this country to be and what they don’t realize is that the very people they look down on, show racial hatred to are really what strength of this country.
Please see Colin Powell’s comments below:
Now, I understand what politics is all about. I know how you can go after one another, and that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me. And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor
Palin has indicated a further rightward shift. I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration. I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. 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? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
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. Now, we have got to stop polarizing
ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.
So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.
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