An open letter to Colin Powell

Dear General Powell,

I am writing today to urge you to end your silence on the presidential campaign and to publicly endorse Barack Obama. I do so because I believe you to be a man of honor and integrity who has devoted his life to the service of our country. I do so because I believe your country needs your service now more than ever. Given the numerous problems America now faces at home and abroad, and the severity of those problems, this election was already going to be the most important of our lifetime, but by his desperate - and dangerous - efforts to avoid defeat through demonizing Barack Obama, John McCain has upped the ante even further. This election is now about hate, about fear, about the resurrected nightmare of open and overt racism. This is no longer merely a battle for control of the White House, it is a battle for the soul of America. And it is a battle you must join, sir, as difficult as that choice may be.
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I assume you have heard the statements by John McCain's campaign staff that their new attacks on Senator Obama's character and associations were needed because they knew their candidate would lose if voters continued to focus on the actual issues, especially the economy. I assume you have seen the means by which that despicable strategy was launched this past weekend with Sarah Palin's assertion that Senator Obama was somehow directly connected with terrorists, a speech which even the Associated Press described as "racially-tinged."

But sir, have you seen the effect this new campaign ploy has had on the public? Have you seen how the racists who have been smearing Senator Obama for months on the internet and through email campaigns have now been empowered to emerge from the shadows in which they were hiding and openly proclaim their hatred? Have you read the grotesque racist rantings of Senator McCain's campaign chair in Buchanan County, Virginia? Did you watch Seam Hannity's recent broadcast featuring Andy Martin, a notorious anti-Semite who proudly claims to be responsible for launching the baseless rumor that Barack Obama is a Muslim? Most important, have you read the reports describing how members of the audience at recent speeches by both Sarah Palin and John McCain have shouted "Terrorist!" and "Kill him!" when Barack Obama was mentioned, and that McCain and Palin said nothing in response? This situation is not merely ugly and it is not merely dangerous. This is insanity.

Full letter