Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has called Powell "just another liberal," said he should become a Democrat and charged that Powell endorsed Obama based on race. Powell said Sunday that Limbaugh "doesn't decide who I am or what I am no more than I decide who he is or what he is."'
Smack. And that's the difference between strength and a loud fucking mouth. Powell's statement says more about Limbaugh than the radio host manages to say about himself. It's hard to evaluate how truly infantile he is when taken in isolation; his bloviations, while not credible, might echo of import to the uneducated ear. But when you contrast his spittle-inducing diatribes with Powell's staid, confident demeanor, you see how utterly irrelevant Limbaugh is - or should be. Like the high school bully with the swollen head, and midsection, trying to pick a fight with some coed - with an MBA from George Washington - they inhabit two worlds. One is a place of nuance that requires complex approaches to difficult issues and the other is some hyper-reality that inflates with every blustery outburst. Unfortunately, free speech allows blowhards like Limbaugh to insert their helium heads into the national dialogue. Thank goodness for folks like General Powell who stand firm and immune.
Thought I'd revisit his endorsement given on Meet the Press shortly before the election. I can't admire him for his role in crafting Don't Ask Don't Tell, but I do respect him for something he said in this interview. More than his praise of Obama, it was his insistence that one's patriotism and Muslim faith do not conflict in America that I found important and necessary, especially considering the strong anti-Muslim sentiment pulsating through the McCain campaign. The very fact that he needed to address this though saddens me.
