Colin Powell's Comments

Colin Powell made a recent observation that he believed that Sarah Palin is a person who is one of the more polarizing figures on the political stage and exemplifies the growing polarization of and in the Republican Party. Interesting to note, in recent polling data, her approval rating across the nation is in the 30's and amongst the Republican base is in the 70's.

She is, it appears, part of the contingent of the party that sees itself as more ideological that pragmatic. Solutions are found by sticking to an ideology and if the ideology doesn’t work, stick with it anyway, because it will some day. People who listen to Rush Limbaugh here this kind of rhetoric all the time. It’s always fun to note that these theories are labeled as principles whether they prove to work or not.

It is interesting to see the demographics of the last election. Cities and college towns voted overwhelming for Obama. Small rural areas voted overwhelming for McCain. Sarah Palin played into this by intimating that real American values come from small towns and the rural areas. For people who grew up in large cities or major metropolitan areas, her words were and are personally insulting. Colin Powell said that he was raised in the South Bronx and there is nothing wrong with his values. Indeed, many people who are good, upstanding citizens, were raised in cities and major metro areas.

Part of the problem is that what built the nation is often misconstrued. Throughout the campaign the Republican candidates repeatedly said that the United States was built on small businesses. In small towns and rural areas that is certainly true. However, in large cities and major metropolitan areas, the United States was built on manufacturing. It was the large factories that employed people and the mass production of products that changed the course of American life.

Before World War II people marveled at American production and we were seen as people who loved to manufacture fun things for ourselves. Hermann Goering noted that the United States would never be a manufacturing threat because we were too busy building cars and making razor blades. Pearl Harbor and our entry into the war demonstrated that our manufacturing ability could turn on a dime. We built tanks and planes in such a quantity that we fought two wars at the same time, and won both, decisively.

Unlike Karl Rove who sought a permanent Republican majority I see the nation through a different lens. I see a nation that needs at least two, probably more political parties. If for nothing else, having opposition keeps one honest. The old saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely is certainly true. No one party should have all branches of the government for very long-----unless they do a magnificent job------and we haven’t seen that as of yet.

For the Republicans, it is time to get back into the game. Colin Powell is right. Sara Palin and people like her are polarizing and will never reach people in the cities and major metro areas. I guess I’d decree her fifteen minutes of fame to be over, and find someone a lot smarter, a lot better educated, and a lot more pragmatic than her to be in a leadership position.