Sununu Chalks Up Powell's Obama Endorsement to Race

And then immediately walks it back after TV interview
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 26, 2012 6:23 AM CDT

John Sununu is co-chair of Mitt Romney's campaign and thus not happy that Republican Colin Powell endorsed President Obama. But the former White House chief of staff raised eyebrows last night on CNN with how he dismissed its importance:

  • "When you take a look at Colin Powell, you have to look at whether that's an endorsement based on issues or he's got a slightly different reason for endorsing President Obama," he told Piers Morgan. "I think when you have somebody of your own race that you're proud of being president of the United States, I applaud Colin for standing with him."

That immediately roused the Twitters with accusations of the race card, and Sununu soon walked it back in a statement: "Colin Powell is a friend and I respect the endorsement decision he made and I do not doubt that it was based on anything but his support of the president's policies." John McCain also criticized the endorsement, notes Politico, but he kept race out of it: “All I can say is: Gen. Powell, you disappoint us,” McCain said on Fox News Radio. “And you have harmed your legacy even further by defending what has clearly been the most feckless foreign policy in my lifetime.” While he was on the subject, he blasted Powell's "absolutely false" presentation to the UN before the Iraq war in 2003. (More John Sununu stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X