The Clintons, to a great extent, finished the color-sensitizing of parts of the service. Not the spear’s very tip: you don’t care your buddy’s color in a warzone. Dead is dead, regardless of color.

What I’m addressing is typified by an experience a few days ago:
I ws driving back on base. A female troop was doing IDcheck. She had an Obie button on her BDUs. We aren’t allowed to wear political endorsements while on duty! Since she obviously wasn’t active duty, but recently activated, (she has 2″ nails), I figured she was just ignorant of regs.

Informing her she was out of regs, I cited both the nails & the Obie button.

2 days later I encountered her again. No change. When I tracked down her CO, I found I wasn’t the 1st to see him about her.

He told me that after speaking to her about it, he got a phone call from above to overlook it. She’d complained to anyone who’d listen – starting with the JG – that she was being “racially targeted”.

I didn’t mention it, but she’s black. Being somewhat deep-brown myself, I don’t notice until its shoved in my face.

I’ve dinged others for being out of regs: hair too long, dangling earrings, etc. This is the 1st time I’ve encountered this, but I’m told that the incidents of “racial” claims among the support services is growing fast. A military can’t operate with these currents running through it! Talking to those who knew him, served w/him Powell playd every card to his political&career advantage. He gamed the system. I can’t help wondering if his example’s at work here, too. Its claimed that women’s strides today “are because of the sisters who’ve gone before”. Is the racecard gaming the system in the military? I pray not.

http://rattlergator.typepad.com/rattlergator/2008/10/the-african-american-slide.html

Indeed, the pile of careers that Powell has used to elevate himself contains all races & sexes of troop. Though, in reading my comment today, I realize the Eddie Haskle ref., (a character from the show “Leave it to Beaver”) maybe too obscure.

But as I wrote, the Powell endorsement is the least surprising surprise this election season. His spot in the would-be McCain admin. is already filled, & has been since before the winds shifted to grant McCain the nomination. Powell certainly wasn’t going to tie himself to McCain before it was assured JM would be the R’s candidate. It might close the doors he’d need down the road when the GOP picked its nominee!

Look at the public part of the Powell’s career, for goodness-sakes! He was a geneal who wouldn’t go to the latrine w/o a consensus being built 1st, and 2 dozen studies on the proper brand of tissue! He’d then spitshine his CO’s boots to make sure there was CYA paperwork incase he missed dumping his bombs.

Sorry. As I’ve said, I’ve no use for the man. I’ve served under COs of his stripe. They’re *always* a disaster, both for morale and for mission objectives. The current, almost insurmountable problm we face is the number of his type out number the General P.-types by a margin that exploded under Clinton. The politically-oriented, PC officers were the ones who benefited disproportionately in the 90s. The heavy-loading of the “yes-men”, afraid of rocking the PC-boat, at the top has hurt us more than I think the civilian population will ever know.

George W. Bush fired him. This is payback. The timing is for maximum effect, coupled with the Jayson Blair Times savaging Cindy McCain.

Powell had a distinguished career, but this is just petulance from a disgruntled fired ex-employee. When he says he does not like the “direction,” of the Republican Party, what he means is that the direction did not include him.

Obama claimed he was against the war from the beginning, and now embraces the man that sold the rationale for war. Also, perhaps Powell got tired of being seen as “white.” This helps redeem him.

Respectfully,

eric aka the Tygrrrr Express

Colin Powell appeared this morning on MEET THE PRESS with Tom Brokaw and endorsed Barack Hussein Obama for the Presidency and made other problematic, and contradictory, statements. Perhaps the U.S.A.’s War on Terror might have worked out considerably…