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Sam Stein reports:
In a largely even-tempered appearance on “Meet the Press” Sunday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell did save a few harsh words for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for propagating rumors about the president that he labeled “nonsense.”
Asked to address Gingrich’s latest controversial comments — in which he insisted that President Obama suffered from a Kenyan anti-colonial worldview — Powell insisted that the former speaker was simply pining for the spotlight. He also urged Republican voters not to fall for the gambit or mistake it for serious or winning politics.
“I would just tell my fellow Americans: think carefully about what was just said, think carefully about some of the stuff that is coming across the blogs and the airwaves. Let’s make a couple points: One, the president was born in the United States of America. Let’s get rid of that one, let’s get rid of the birther thing. Let’s attack him on policy and not nonsense. Next, he is a Christian. He is not a Muslim. Twenty percent of the people see he is a Muslim, 80 percent apparently do not believe he is a Muslim.”
At this point, moderator David Gregory interrupted to note that even more Republicans (30 percent, roughly) bought the Obama-is-a-Muslim myth.
“Well surprise, surprise. But I bet you a dollar if the unemployment rate was not 9.5 percent but it was down to four percent then you would find only five percent think he is a Muslim. So they are attacking the president on this line. But he is not a Muslim. He is a Christian, and I think we have to be careful when we take things like Dinesh D’souza’s book, which is the source for all this, and suggest that somehow the president of the United States is channeling his dead father through some Kenyan spirits. This doesn’t make any sense. Mr. Gingrich does these things from time to time, with a big bold statement. He did it with [Sonia] Sotomayor, she’s a reverse racist; he did it with Elena Kagan, she ought to be taken off the nomination for Supreme Court justice; and he does it occasionally to make news and also to stir up dust.”
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While I really like the pragmatism showed by Obama to pass the majority of his legislative agenda in 2 years I wish Colin Powell was the first African-American President in 2000 instead of George W. Bush.
Luckily, I have secret sources and can shed some light on Powell and his PRPSI index score.(Potential Republican Presidential Suitability Index) Powell flunked the exam. I found out it was administered to Powell early in 1999 at a secret location near Dayton, Tennessee. Powell was hooked up to a monitor and then gauged on his reactions to trigger words and phrases. His pulse and BP stayed normal thru “Liberal, government, social security is good, national health care, Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Michael Moore, regulation, overtime pay, unions, and food stamps.” Still, Powell might have made it but he really flunked the second part of the test in a bad way, the RNSDS Test. ( Response to Negative Stimuli Drama Skills test.)
The test administrator read the following sentences, one at a time, as if in a debate or television interview: “Tax increases on the wealthy will decrease the deficit.” Wall Street is full of greed and corruption and should be re-regulated.” and “Trickle down economics is a really, really stupid idea.” Powell was unable to either gag, froth at the mouth, or go into fake apoplectic shock. It was all over for him as a potential Republican presidential candidate.
I hear Newt passed with flying colors, and only scored low on the RFEC multiple choice test (Realistic Faking of Emotional Concern) But, to be fair to Newt, the test did include a “How would you tell your sick wife you were cheating on her and wanted a divorce” question. Newt was given:
a) I would wait until she was well.
b) I would cry and tell her I was a POS and not worthy of her.
c) I would do it in the hospital cafeteria so she would not make a public scene.
d) Who gives a damn about a sick wife?
Newt chose (d).
Parisfal:
If true, that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I’m watching Meet the Press right now and he’s on and I just love his calm, collected political views and cautious nature.
According to that show, Wormhole, there are an infinite number of “branes” in the Universe where what I said was true. Even in this one, however, you are correct. Powell is way too calm and rational to be a GOP candidate. I can not imagine him calling the other side “socialists” or kowtowing to Rush and Glenn and the rest of the pack.
@parsifal
What’s the Potential Republican Presidential Suitability Index? A stupidity contest?
Good for Powell if he doesn’t score high on the current GOP “suitability index”. Palin, O’Donnel, Gingrich etc have no chance of winning a general election on the national level.
parsifal was engaging in this thing human beings sometimes do. It’s called humor.
Here’s the translation on former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich [R-Georgia]:
“I’ll say anything, do anything, and exploit anything … to win my party’s 2012 nomination for the presidency of the United States.”