With Pat Buchanan and Rush Limbaugh doing their usual, disgraceful character assassination routine, this time on General Colin Powell (for having the audacity to express publicly his belief that Barack Obama will make a great president), I thought some past quotes by leading Republicans might help provide a bit of perspective.
Ronald Reagan (9/23/93 - statement on Powell winning the 1993 Reagan Freedom Award) "During my administration, Colin Powell played a key role in the success of our foreign policy and made a special contribution toward the improvement of relations with the former Soviet Union."
Ronald Reagan (11/5/87 - Remarks Announcing Appointments Upon the Resignation of Caspar W. Weinberger as Secretary of Defense)
And to replace Frank, I've chosen a seasoned professional and Frank's right-hand man here at the White House: Lieutenant General Colin Powell. General Powell has had a distinguished career in the field and at the highest levels of our government. Together with Frank, he helped design and direct the overhaul of the NSC staff. With him taking the helm, the NSC won't even break stride, and the team will remain intact. Colin, congratulations.
Rush Limbaugh (11/13/95 - Newsweek)
"I happen to think it is a bit risky to say to the guy, Don't even get into the race'," talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who has refrained from attacking Powell, told Newsweek. "I say, let the guy in. The Republican Party can handle it."
George Allen (12/16/00 - Capital Gang)
I think the appointment of General Powell is a tremendous appointment. The speech that General Powell gave, I think, gives people assurance that George W. Bush as president is going to put in people who are credible, who will help us in foreign policy.When General Powell as secretary of state is speaking for this country, the people he'll be negotiating with and talking with are going to United States this man has a following. He's not just some career ambassador. This is a person with a great deal of credibility...
Also, just a reminder that Powell served as Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor from 1987 to 1989, then was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993, also George W. Bush's Secretary of State from January 2001 through January 2005. Here is a list of all the badges, medals, ribbons and other decorations won by General Powell. Needless to say, it's extremely impressive - a lot more impressive than Rush Limbaugh, for instance, who was disqualified from the draft during the Vietnam War due to a "pilonidal cyst" (a cyst near the natal cleft of the buttocks that often contains hair and skin debris). And, of course, there's Pat Buchanan, who supposedly had a "bad knee" (although he reportedly is an avid jogger).