Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama on Meet the Press today was a remarkably powerful supporting act to what's turning out to be, well ahead of January 20, Obama's transformational campaign. I'll let others deconstruct the political implications of Powell's endorsement.
For my purposes here, as impressed as I was by his rationale for switching from McCain to Obama, what had me on my feet and practically in tears was his 350-word aside on the meaning of "Muslim." For the first time this entire election season, a statesman of unquestionable stature has finally said what should have been said almost two years ago. To imply that Obama is a Muslim or an Arab is in itself an offense if the implication is intended to degrade him. More to the point: to imply that anyone being a Muslim is somehow offensive is the far greater offense.
Obama, Powell said, "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."
Finally.
With those words, Powell was not only dispensing with one of the most scurrilous campaigns against Obama's name and American pluralism, but he was also rehabilitating himself in the eyes of a billion Muslims. Most of the Arab world and the rest of the
His words on the matter are worth taking in in their full context:
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.
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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.
McCain has been at his Palin-like worst. Powell just had his finest hour.
Comments
Yes! It is about time we heard a voice of reason, and from a respected leader, no less. I am an evangelical Christian that is disheartened that a similar rebuke did not come from the Christian communiuty. While much of America may still equate Muslims with Terrorism, reasonable, logical discourse like this will erode the misinformation. It is a small minority that has blemished the Name of Islam, just as been the case throughout history with Christians. But then again, only 60 years ago, we imprisioned thousands of an entire ethnic group based on much less “evidence.”
Great review of a great public statement. The sad thing many Republicans seem to be missing in Colin’s powerful statement is that it is a message – not about voting for Obama, but about standing up for the rights of all Americans.
I have already been reading posts (largely from the Republican side) that Powell is “no longer a hero,” “voting race,” and a lot of other unfair, negative and dismissive comments.
I say Colin Powell is even more a man to be respected today, than he already was before his endorsement of Obama. Again, not because he jumped parties for this vote, but the reasons why he did.
General Powell’s endorsement was at least race related, as his earlier comment makes clear where he said: “A black president would be transformational”.
As for the Muslim population in America, I have heard little in the way of condemnation of Islamic extremists by any of the many Muslim organizations in America.
Until that happens, the comment by Gen. Powell can only be viewed as an inappropriate submission to an unrelenting Muslim ambition to create the world wide Umma or Caliphate.
One of the biggest road block to that goal is the United States.
Congratulations, General, you just took a big block out of that wall, without getting any concessions in return.
Hermann, you’re parroting silly and unfounded talking points.
First, you don’t think electing a black man president is revolutionary in a country whose biggest stain is its nearly 400-year dehumanization of blacks? Powell’s statement was “race related” in that context, yes, but not in the racist context you imply.
Second, do you even know “any of the many Muslim organizations in America”? Do you know a single one? Please, name one. Then show me how it hasn’t condemned extremism. You won’t be able to, because all those organizations you talk about, not just in America but in the rest of the world, including some of Cairo’s and Saudi Arabia’s most conservative clerics (almost as conservative as Sarah Palin) have been condemning extremism all along.
Go ahead. prove me wrong. Name me one of those “Muslim organizations” in America that hasn’t.
Who do you want to run your country? You want a statesmen running things, that’s who. Everytime a Republican uses the word elite like its a bad word, I cringe. Why do they do that?
Elite (also spelled Élite) is taken originally from the Latin, eligere, “to elect”. The position of an elite at the top of the social strata almost invariably puts it in a position of leadership. So you want the elite to run our country. By definition!!! Who else?
There are farmers. Sure, we need farmers. We need men that understand how things grow, the best pesticides to use, how genetically enhanced food will eventually start to effect our physical evolution, how to clean water, how to irrigate, how to make dry areas green, how to effectively fertilize without having any ill affects on local water systems. How to thoughtfully bring the grow areas closer to market so that we save on energy and travel costs. We need farmers. We need smart farmers. But we don’t need them to run the country.
We need dentists and doctors . We need people who have spent their years learning to keep our bodies healthy and save lives. Dentists and doctors are essential to prevent the spread of massive disease and thereby head off all sorts of economic and environmental disasters. But we don’t need one to run our country.
We need teachers. Someone must gather the mistakes of the past, and teach those lessons to us as children, so we can build on that information and offer a better life to our kids. We need teachers to give us basic skills like reading and math and language in order to function effectively in society. We need teachers to introduce us to imagination, art, and music. And at the very least, we need teachers to watch the kids for a few hours so as parents, you can have some sanity. But we don’t need a teacher to run the country.
We need builders. Someone has to know how to make brick and mortar, how to create a home, how to make it safe, bring in plumbing and electricity, and construct a family’s home base to return to generation after generation. But we don’t need a builder to run our country.
We need sheriffs. Someone has to stop those with mad cow disease from killing, raping, stealing, and swindling the rest of us. But we don’t need that sheriff to run the country. We need him to run the legal enforcement system.
We need generals. We need those who clearly see chess-like decisions 30 moves ahead and can instill bravery and duty in their men. But we don’t need those generals, skilled in the art of war and destruction, to run our country.
We need soldiers. In a time of crisis, we need them to save and rescue. In a time of fear and intrusion and attack, we need those who will rise and defend us. We need those who will follow orders and trust in their commanders to see the bigger picture. But we don’t need them to put down their weapons and lead the country.
Leaders should be leaders. Those who listen and engage those around them. Those who amalgamate and gather information. Those who surround themselves with disinterested parties. And if there are special interest people in our leader’s inner circle, let them be the type of people who work for the greater good. A leader should be someone who can compromise and negotiate. Those who understand job creation. Someone who is compassionate. We need a leader who can analyze data. Someone who makes friends and allies. A leader should be able to keep the cost of living down. Our leaders should be those who choose peace and can and will build a framework to keep it. Although I am more spiritual than religious, I feel that those who are pious and moral would make the best leaders. Answering to a higher power is always a good motivation for making the best decisions. Leaders should be hopeful and undamaged. We need someone who is as whole emotionally as possible, not someone who could easily have been deeply affected by being kept in a hole.
Leaders should be leaders. Those who have peaceful homes and respect the constitution of family and marriage. Those who are engaging and endearing. Those without bloodlust. Those who are not looking to instigate (audio of McCain on wanting to be where the guns were firing to be inserted here), We need those who deliberate. Those who know its easier to say no, than to say yes, but still chose to say yes. We need problem solvers, peacekeepers, those who can hire well (Rick Davis et al data here). Those who are well informed and instill loyalty. That is to say, if they don’t know something, those closest to our leader make sure they find it out, and quickly, almost before anyone else.
Leaders should be leaders. Those who value education above all. Not someone who puts down anyone with an education. A leader of this country should remember the tired, the helpless, the poor. Our leader should understand the incredibly valuable commodity that our country has to offer, opportunity. Our leaders should hold that opportunity dear and do all they can to keep it accessible, abundant, and contemporary. Our leaders should understand that upholding the availability of opportunity is the best export we have and that channeling that opportunity into the green job market would be for the good of our planet. Our leader should be someone who can get the world to join us in our efforts and maybe even recruit those allies to help us fund worldwide green research and implementation. Our leaders should walk the walk and drive a green car to be a good example for the nation. And when our economy is in trouble, we need someone who will sound the alarm, early on (see footage of Obama) and not try to lull the masses (see video of McCain).
Leaders should be leaders. Those who are willing to admit and point out when others are right. Those who can look you in the eye. We need someone you can innately trust. Those who get involved the minute there is a problem, and start working toward a solution (Bush continued to read to the kindergartners on 9/11, McCain stayed in NY two extra days when the economy crashed and did not participate in negotiations). Our leader should know basic geography. For instance, Spain is in Europe, not in Latin America, not in Mexico, and not in our hemisphere. Iraq doesn’t border Pakistan.
Leaders should be born leaders. Those who can unite minorities and raise them up to the level of everyone else. The history of the United States is fraught with mistakes, massive slavery of a people, annihilations of the native Americans, persecution of the native Hawaiians, disregard for the native American Eskimos. This legacy must no longer be passed on.
If you look at all the living ex-Presidents, you will see that the 4 or 8 years really age them. They almost seem to age quicker than the rest of us. Maybe its the stress, the lack of sleep, or the critics, but each time the office seems to take its toll. We need someone who can take the ageing element out of being President, by starting out younger.
We need heroes. We do. We treasure them. We look up to them. We respect them. But in a leader, we need someone who will use their reach to gather solutions, not reach out to their minions and encourage them to “kill the other guy.” (See different messages that went out from both campaigns. Barack asking for suggestions, McCain asking his camp to continue to slander and defame the other guy.)
Can you honestly say that McCain is this leader?
ConcernedMilf
Great review! We live in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The land of freedom. People from all parts of the world come to work hard and contribute with their efforts. Its time to start recognizing and not judging them because of their race or color, religion, or because of their country of origin. Our constitution expresses that, we have to follow it and honor it because many american heroes,(many who have been from other countries) fought for it. “The respect to someone else’s right of being, is peace”
RE: John the so called Christian–its not just a small minority of Muslims that have blemished Islam–Islam is an evil Godless religion that has been devastating to every country that has either embraced it or allowed it. Its too bad most Christians are so ignorant and irresponsible–and becuase of this they are all too willing to be permissive with evil!
C.R., need I remind you that since Christianity has been participating in the religious Olympics, for going on almost two millenniums now, it’s been the undisputed gold medalist in barbarism, genocide, repression (of women, the poor, minorities), bigotry, torture, grand theft, with especially spectacular skills in inquisitions, holocausts, pogroms, crusades and, thanks to those frisky Jesuits in Latin America, the eradication-by-syphilis of entire native populations? Islam in comparison, its Islamists’ relatively recent blood lusts aside of course, has been strictly amateur league material when it comes to death and destruction.
You should not be so eager so publicly to prove Christianity’s other historic success: never letting ignorance stand in the way of proudly brandished prejudice.
By Islamic law the child automatically takes the religion of the father. Obama Sr. was muslim his father Obama Jr’s. Grandfather, according to Obama Jr’s Half brother, was the first person in the village to convert to Muslim. I have found no evidence of exactly when he converted to Christianity. Personally, anyone who condones letting a doctor suck the brains out of a baby who’s head is the only part left in the womans body or condones letting a baby die after it had the luck or whatever you want to call it to survive an attempted abortion is not a christian either and neither is anyone else who condones these practices. I do not believe any doctor can say with total honesty that the baby does not suffer pain during these proceedures. Up until the age of 12 all paperwork I have found shows Obama’s religion as a muslim. His being muslim for 12 years or so and then converting to Islam makes no difference in America. However, it makes a big difference to Islam