The Esteemed Colin Powell Endorses Obama & As Expected Some of My Fellow Conservatives Cry Race.....NOT!

As many of you already know, former Secretary of State Colin Powell formally announced his endorsement for Senator Barack Obama's presidential bid and some on the far right are blaming race or tribalism as the cause for Powell’s alleged heresy in crossing party lines. I hate to state the obvious, but it still amazes me how Whites are able to support “White” interests without tribal criticism and yet Powell’s support must be viewed through a racial microscope. I have alluded to this unfair dynamic countless times since Afronerd’s inception and my greatest desire would be for people of color to speak more frequently and forthrightly as it pertains to such a grotesque double standard. Take a look at an excerpt from the Huffington Post regarding Republican backlash toward Powell’s decision:

Colin Powell's decision to endorse Barack Obama has sparked a mini-debate of sorts over both the significance of the endorsement itself and the role that race has and will play during this campaign.

In the immediate aftermath of his appearance on Meet The Press, several prominent GOP officials - ranging from the established to the extreme - defined the announcement more by skin color than ideology.

The most crass interpretation came from talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, who wrote the Politico's Jonathan Martin the following:

"Secretary Powell says his endorsement is not about race... OK, fine. I am now researching his past endorsements to see if I can find all the inexperienced, very liberal, white candidates he has endorsed. I'll let you know what I come up with."

Later in the day, Pat Buchanan echoed Limbaugh's refrain. "Alright, we gotta ask a question," he declared on MSNBC, "look would Colin Powell be endorsing Obama if he were a white liberal Democrat..."

The esteemed conservative columnist George Will did not go so far, but he did seek to explain the impact of Powell's decision as part of a larger, more psychological sway that Obama held over other African Americans.

There will be "some impact," Will declared. "And I think this adds to my calculation -- this is very hard to measure -- but it seems to me if we had the tools to measure we'd find that Barack Obama gets two votes because he's black for every one he loses because he's black because so much of this country is so eager, a, to feel good about itself by doing this, but more than that to put paid to the whole Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson game of political rhetoric."

For more, click on the link below:

Some Conservatives See Race In Powell's Obama Endorsement