Trayvon Verdict 'Questionable,' Soon 'Forgotten': Colin Powell

Former secretary warns GOP voter ID laws will backfire
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 25, 2013 7:00 AM CDT
Trayvon Verdict 'Questionable,' Soon 'Forgotten:' Colin Powell
In this Aug. 21, 2013, photo, former Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks on CBS' "Face the Nation" during a pre-taped interview.   (AP Photo/CBS News, Mary F. Calvert)

Colin Powell today called out the Trayvon Martin verdict, calling it "questionable judgment on the part of the judicial system down there," but predicting that the case would fade quickly from national memory. "I don't know if it will have staying power,” Powell said on Face the Nation, as per Politico. “These cases come along, and they blaze across the midnight sky and then after a period of time, they're forgotten.” He also applauded President Obama's comments on the verdict, saying, "I'd like to see him be more passionate about race questions, and I think that was an accurate characterization of some of the things that we were exposed to." Powell said he himself had been "refused access to restaurants, even though I had just come back from Vietnam," and told "we can't give you a hamburger."

Powell also had a little advice for fellow Republicans pushing voter ID laws, adds the Huffington Post: "Here's what I say to my Republican friends: The country is becoming more diverse. You say you want to reach out. You say you want to see if you can bring some of these voters to the Republican side. This is not the way to do it. The way to do it is to make it easier for them to vote and then give them something to vote for that they can believe in." (More Colin Powell stories.)

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