Colin Powell appeared on Meet the Press on Sunday and he made an eloquent defense for Barack Obama as president while resoundingly defeating the cruel, and unfounded, attacks by the radical right wing that Obama is as Muslim when he is not; but, Powell argued, what if Obama were a Muslim? What difference would it make? What difference should it make? Then General Powell mentioned an arresting image he saw in the New Yorker showing Elsheba Khan resting her head on the grave of her dead Muslim American son, Specialist Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. Powell told us Special Khan fought for America and his sacrifice was no less than that of any Christian.
Here's what Powell said in defense of Obama:
It would be good for America if President Barack Obama would ask Colin Powell to "go in and set things right" in the Middle East.
That would start to save Powell's reputation and it would immediately rescue the rest of us from the tar pit of Middle Eastern despair that is drowning the United States in debt and woe.
I'm also troubled by, not what Sen. 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.Colin Powell's support for Barack Obama does not undo the unrighteous wrongs he did to get us into the war in Iraq, but it's a start at reconciliation and recantation.
But the really right answer is: What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is: No, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing he or she can be President?
Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion: he's a Muslim, and he might be associated with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
It would be good for America if President Barack Obama would ask Colin Powell to "go in and set things right" in the Middle East.
That would start to save Powell's reputation and it would immediately rescue the rest of us from the tar pit of Middle Eastern despair that is drowning the United States in debt and woe.
I saw the interview. He was eloquent I agree, David. Religion shouldn't matter but it does.
Then, Anne, the radical right wing blamed the eloquence on race: Powell supports Obama only because they're both Black.
I read that, too. Disgusting, David. How did everything get so bad?
I think it's desperation, Anne. The radical right wing are on their way out for a long time and they're desperate to cling to whatever shreds left behind.
I saw this on tv, David. It's great that Powell can talk sense too!
Hi David,
Exactly so, being Muslim/Bouddha or whatever...doesn't make anybody any less American.
It should not.
I'm glad you saw it, Danajay!
After the show, Powell was inundated with refutations in his email that Obama is, indeed, a Muslim and that he's been endorsed by Muslims:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/opinion/22dowd.html
What incredible, stupid, people!
It shouldn't, Katha, but it matters to some people so much that they're willing to do violence against the "non-Christian" minority. It is disturbing to watch and listen to the uneducated gain so much power and provocation behind Palin's stoking of the national nightmare of religious hatred.
Thanks for the link, David!
It's a good read, Dananjay, because Dowd is able to verify the hate on the next level. Creepy!