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When Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama yesterday, I decided to just sit back and see what would happen. My opinion on this is that it’s more than fine to criticize the political party that one is aligned with. I’ve done it myself as I’ve become quite skeptical of both parties although I’ve never hidden the fact that I lean to the left although the idea that Obama is the biggest liberal in the Senate just isn’t accurate.

Dennis Kucinich is a a die-hard liberal. Obama isn’t. Just read the issues and his past record.

With that said, what Powell said on Meet The Press yesterday was constructive criticism of his party.

Powell talked of the things that I’ve heard other members of the GOP even here in Hoots talk about. Why are we creating discrimination of American-born Muslims? It’s a good question. Let remember Timothy McVeigh, shall we. A white guy born in New York, remember him, because he’s the person that blew up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. It was an act of terrorism. Of course, the events of 9/11 are horrible and still create nightmares but it was a group of radicals who were no different than McVeigh, who was also a radical. And white.

I have no problem with Powell although I still question his speech to the United Nations prior to the war in Iraq. With that said, I think that Powell cares about his country, which he has proven time and time again. Ever since Powell came into the public eye during Desert Storm, there was a connection with the American Public. And, if you look through several of the last presidential campaigns, he was always in the spotlight as some people were eager to hear his perspective on the state of the nation. He’s had a best selling novel because people apparently wanted to know more about him.

Let’s go back to the United Nations speech, his service to this  country and how he did walk the party line for the GOP for years

And then let’s look at yesterday. He talked about his party more than anything else. He was saying, from my perspective, that, and I’ve said this before, that the GOP, his party, needed to quit focusing on creating spin and get back to the issues. That subtle forms of racism need to be stopped. That the conversation of socialism needs to be stopped.

With that said, let’s go to the race issue. I have read the thread over at Kleinheider’s, and I respectfully disagree with him on some of his statements that he wrote.  He presented a dialog about race, and I have read the comments. Is race a hot button issue here? According to many of his commenters, yes. I’m not so sure, however, that those folks are just a small percentage of vocal opponents which are always in the blogosphere which lurk on both sides of party lines.

I want to say this though. Powell has been a national public figure for a long time. Constructive criticism is what I witnessed in his endorsement of the party he has dedicated his life to. I think it’s narrow-minded to automatically dismiss that Powell endorsed Obama strictly on the race issue.

I’ve never seen him endorse Al Sharpton or Jessie Jackson, have you? So the race issue doesn’t wash with me in Powell’s decision. He has one vote, he told you who he was voting for and he told you why.

And that’s that.