Colin Powell

Sunday morning, I was playing with my grandson and his trains in the living room. The television was on but, neither one of us was paying any attention to it. After all, we were about the serious business of laying tracks and connecting a station that his trains were going to run through. Then, I heard the announcer say, "When we return, former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, will weigh in with his choice for President." Now, that caught my attention.

I continued playing with my little man but, now I was anxiously trying to get through the very clever Viagra commercial where the man puts on a powder blue tux from (what I hope wasn't) his wedding day and then vainly attempts to carry his wife upstairs for a "romp in the hay." He wisely decides that he is no longer a twenty-something and Viagra or not, he'd better conserve what energy he has and just WALK up the stairs for that romp. I sang along with the commercial, "Viva... Viva... Viagraaaaaaaa..." (at least, the song was cool). There was another commercial about bloating but, I didn't really get into that one.

Then, came the face of the black man who I had secretly wanted to run for president many years ago. Colin Powell! Colin Powell is a man who I have always respected, even though I have cringed at his political association with this Bush administration. I have always thought of him as a good, decent man and a free thinker. Although, I lost a little respect for him when, while serving as Secretary of State under this president, he backed the lies and misconceptions put forth by the Bush Administration that led to this dreadful war in Iraq. I suspect that even he had a problem with what he was being asked to do and say and that this is why he eventually gave it up and walked away from it all in favor of being a private citizen.

Despite the fact that Colin Powell is a "moderate" Republican, he has gone on the record and said that he is supporting Barack Obama for president. I was pleased to hear this and I know it took a lot of courage for him to go against his party to take this stand. He mapped out some very good reasons why he was choosing Mr. Obama for president and none of his reasons had anything to do with race. (So, take that Rush Limbaugh!) They were clear cut and intelligent reasons that would have been "accepted" if he were white but, never the less, they were pooh-poohed by a few right wing pundits who speculated that the real reason he was supporting Obama was because they are both black.

I could do an entire post on how nutty and wrong that is but, I won't waste the effort. Colin Powell backed President Bush for re-election and nobody had a problem with that so, can't he back Barack Obama? I would have backed Powell for president, Republican or not, because I like the man and not just because he's black. Despite his missteps with both George W., his daddy (George, Sr.), and that crowd, Colin Powell has redeemed himself in my eyes with his announcement on Sunday morning.

Can you believe that after his announcement, they showed that same Viagra commercial that aired right before he made his announcement? Was that a subliminal suggestion about the present impotence of this nation and it's economy? Oh-Oh, there I go gettin' deep. Television news people don't get that deep. It probably was just a coincidence... just like Colin's brave choice.