Why Colin Powell brings gravitas, credibility and star power to Bush presidency

Special to USAfricaonline.com
USAfrica The Newspaper, Houston
The Black Business Journal

President-elect George W. Bush has named retired Gen. Colin Powell as his Secretary of State, on Saturday, December 16, 2000, at a school in Crawford, Texas. I believe that Powell, one of the most admired personalities in the United States brings definable knowledge of international relations, gravitas, star power and bipartisan credibility to the emerging Bush administration.

Powell, 63, is the first person named to the new cabinet (to be confirmed by Congress), and the highest-ranked African American in the history of U.S. government. He had served Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, G.W's father George Herbert Walker Bush, and briefly incumbent Democrat President Bill Clinton.

There are a number of issues which are important for our community of African Americans regarding the Powell choice as Secretary of State.

First, I agree entirely with president-elect Bush that "General Powell is an American hero, an American example and a great American story," He is a genuine public servant with an admirable integrity. Like the finest among them, he is not perfect but he aspires for the best; long before and even after he stepped down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993. Also, Bush is accurate in describing Powell as having a "towering integrity" and showing a "soldier's sense of duty and honor."

Second, Powell's rise validates the fact there are millions of first-rate African Americans who are the very best in what they do; not for some bare-face lie by right-wing nuts and distortion artists who say that, more often than not, African Americans are "not qualified" and are merely employed because of some "quota" and other fallacies against affirmative action. In fact, at the management level, they are even held to a higher, more tasking standards than their colleagues.

Third, Powell's choice is an excellent commentary on Bush's promise to surround himself with "good company... and solid men" (and hopefully, women, too). In my view, Powell holds outstanding social skills, highly-valuable academic qualifications, practical and professional knowledge, operational zest, carries on like a team player and possesses a global knowledge of how the deconstructed Cold War era international geopolitical and ideological paradigms have collapsed and should be managed into the 21st century. In one short sentence, Bush made a wise choice!

Fourth, Powell's choice advances a major socio-economic debate in the United States: the issue of affirmative action. Fact: affirmative action merely opened the door to let the skills of the Powells of America to shine so bright. Affirmative action unlocked the good old boys network of the American establishment for us to see one of our own, a good man, Colin Powell, son of Jamaican immigrants with African roots, to rise to carry the flag of America to all corners of the world, with all of its power, majesty and shall we add, its burdens, too. He's more than capable. May be, Bush himself, should speak directly to the fact and way beyond his campaign time dance and twist he had about whatever-you-say-affirmative-action-is-what-I mean-it-to-be. It not quotas, Mr. President-elect. Speaking the truth about the fundamental difference between affirmative action and quotas will be another defining moment for the Bush presidency regarding social and economic justice and access for the under-privileged and the Historically deprived; excuse me, but I repeat , historically deprived. Regardless, African-Americans should welcome and commend his continuing effort at wooing and seeking Black support. In the recent past, most of his fellow Republican party leaders had what they call the Southern Strategy - which sought basically to go, primarily for the White/Caucasian/Anglo votes by drawing wedge and racially polarizing issues and code words.

Fifth, for my immediate constituency, Powell is familiar with the African continent, and hopefully, will cause a fundamental rethink for president-elect Bush 's (debate/campaign time) dismissal of Africa as not being an area of priority for his government. Certainly, Powell knows better than to pursue such a flawed and economically defeatist approach towards Africa. The international community and almost 32 million African-Americans are hopeful that Powell will, as he has done in the past, elevate the issues that are important for his community and ancestry. Thankfully, he has not yielded on the useful points he articulated very well regarding affirmative action before and at the Republican National convention. How Powell treats a significant part of his Afro-Caribbean heritage will be a major benchmark for his tenure as Secretary of State.

Finally, as the professional media network for Africans in America and other Americans with interests inside the African continent, USAfricaonline.com and USAfrica The Newspaper will support Powell's service (with his team) to foster African and American interests. Where we disagree on principles, or understand the realities and agenda of African peoples better than the Bush-Powell team, we will say so without equivocation and offer what we consider to be more useful. Therefore, in recognition of his impeccable credentials as easily the most qualified American, not just for the fact that he is African-American, to serve as chief steward and guide for America's international relations, and with due regard to his impeccable credentials, on behalf of USAfricaonline.com and USAfrica The Newspaper, I hereby endorse his nomination to become the 65th secretary of state of the United States of America. We wish him well. Congratulations, Brother Powell!

The position stated by Republican presidential aspirant and Governor of Texas, George Bush where he said that "Africa will not be an area of priority" in his presidency has

These views were stated during an interview CNN's anchor Bernard Shaw and senior analyst Jeff Greenfield had with Mr. Nwangwu on Saturday November 18, 2000 during a special edition of 'Inside Politics 2000.'
Nwangwu, adviser to the Mayor of Houston (the 4th largest city in the U.S., and immigrant home to thousands of Africans) argued further that "the issues of the heritage interests of 35 million African-Americans in Africa, the volume and value of oil business between between the U.S and Nigeria and the horrendous AIDS crisis in Africa do not lend any basis for Governor Bush's ill-advised position which removes Africa from fair consideration" were he to be elected president.
By Alverna Johnson

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