Colin Powell | 05/26/2009 8:55 am
With Approval Ratings Soaring, Powell Fires Back at Cheney (Video)
CBS
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell proved he has some fight left him after taking on Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh and other right-wingers who have questioned his Republican credentials.
Appearing on CBS’s "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Powell rebuked Cheney’s suggestion that he’s no longer part of the GOP, "Mr. Cheney was misinformed. I am still a Republican.” Powell also refused to acquiesce to Limbaugh’s wish that he leave the party.
In fact, Powell seemed to rededicate his efforts to rebrand the Republicans, which needs to become more inclusive: "I think the Republican party has to take a hard look at itself and decide what kind of party are we? I have always felt that the Republican party should be more inclusive than it generally has been over the years."
Though Powell may not be popular among Bush loyalists, he’s apparently quite the hit among the general public. A CNN poll released yesterday reveals that 70% of the nation approves of Powell, while only 37 and 30 percent approve of Cheney and Limbaugh, respectively.
Watch Powell on "Face the Nation":
Read more about: CNN Poll, Colin Powell, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, News, Politics, Rush Limbaugh, Video
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229 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment
I too am confused by Mr Powells’ affiliation with republicans when he so clearly supports the democrats and endorsed a democrat president. I was a democrat, but when I decided to support the conservative republicans…I changed my affiliation. Mr Powell wants to ‘change’ the republican party so it’s more like the democrat party…doesn’t make sense to me…it would be like saying the sun needs to be more like the moon…
Powell doesn’t have the nerve to deal with the left and all of the dirty politics that he would have thrown at him. He would not be welcomed there, and is better off where he is.
He is not black enough, nor liberal enough for the Dems. His past would be thrown up as proof that he has sided with the "old white men". Powell is lost between who he is and who he he would like to be seen as, he is torn and clearly can not make the change.
Too bad that just being a good American is not good enough….now one must be some radical activist for race or class to get mentioned or to get a vote…
Bingo. And that’s the main point.
The rest of the comments become a bit irrelevant.
This is the man that made history by addressing the UN council, and by using rogue (implanted) intelligence, that even the most shallow general would’ve picked up, threw the dice against Iraq, and therefore is partly responsible for the 650,000 Iraqi civilian massacre that followed in the USA army’s "middle-east party" called the Iraq Invasion.
After such cock ups, it’s obvious this person has no credibility. Why is the mainstream media wasting the audience’s time with such people, whose credibility is shredded to pieces? Switch off the TV and switch to independent news-agencies on the net to get the real news, and listen to people that matter. He should be in prison, not being interviewed!
WAKE UP AMERICA, he was one of the Bush Administration gangsters.
Another politician that sold his soul to the devil.
The conservative right wing element need to start another party — GWB allowed them to hijack the party from those with more centrist views. I am thrilled to hear that Colin Powell is going to lead an effort to rebrand the party to become more inclusive.
Did you see the CNN poll? 70% for Powell, while Cheney and Limbaugh were in the 30 per cent range, I think 35 for Cheney and 30 for Limbaugh.
But Mel, you failed to report the most important part of that poll—especially since this about Powell "rebranding" the Republican party. Cheney had 66% approval among Republicans while Powell and Limbaugh had around 62%. So, Powell is not the most listened to voice in the Republican party. Also, no one really knows where Powell stands on any issue whereas they do with Cheney and Limbaugh. Let’s see Powell’s numbers when (and if) he reveals where he stands on abortion, illegal immigration, gay marriage and all of the other "hot button" issues. If he goes left on some of these, he will quickly sink with Republicans and maybe many Independents.
It’s easy to criticize—like Powell is doing—why not put up your version—he should tell the American people what he stands for, does he support Obama’s policies? It will be interesting to see if he is as admired when the people really know who he is.
And how about that Gallop poll….
32% identify as Rep. (up 5%) 32% as Dems. ( down 4%) and 34% as Indep.
As for those leaning towards a party…45% Rep. (up 6% from April) 45% Dems (down 5% from April)
Now there’s some interesting numbers….
POWELL: They were outlined. We were aware that these techniques were being discussed. And we were aware that legal opinions were being given that said they met the standard of the law.
But over time, now that we look at it, it’s easy now in the cold light of day to look back and say, you shouldn’t have done any of that. But as Mr. Cheney has said very, very often, as has President Bush and all of us, if we had another attack like 9/11, say on 9/11 a year later, nobody would have forgiven us for not doing everything we could."