I want you to know that I agree with you sort of. I agree that any candidate who is single issue cannot win the white house, but I'm hoping that whoever the candidate is in the future, they don't try to misrepresent themselves simply to obtain presidency. This guarantees their loss as an incumbant when America finds out who they really are (hint: GWB). I agree that Al Sharpton was too one sided, but he did make a lot of great points regarding Bush during the debates. He is just too forceful, but that comes from seeing the severity of the issues first hand. He is fanatical sometimes, however, I don't think Colin Powell has seen what he has seen. DOnt get me wrong, Powell would make a fine president, only the black community might find him very disappointing he probably would not get re-elected.

Anytime someone black deviates from the democrat party and tag line then they are deemed as being white, an uncle tom, a sellout...blah blah blah. And we will never advance to a point where people are really color blind as long as those with opinions such as the above exist. It hits right to the heart of what I was saying and what Bill Cosby alluded to. The problems are on BOTH ends.

Its nice to say that the world can be color blind, I for one feel that way. Yes, I agree the problem is on both sides. I like to think of myself as being on neither side. I am simply explaining the problem at hand. I would definitely vote for a black candidate if they had the right credentials. All I was saying was that a lot of people will pretend like these credentials are not what they are looking for and vote for the other guy (Racists). Or, the candidate will not be true and may get the votes from blacks and non-racists. The only thing is, there are a lot of issues that our current president and even Clinton never addressed and these problems need to be looked at. Until these issues are looked at fully, there cannot be a president who represents America as a whole whether he/she is white or black. Don't be ignorant...understand that we basically agree, only you feel that because you are not racist, there is no racism. I know that even though I am not racist, that it still exists unfortunately.

If you want to get the votes of all the people, then you have to do more than represent the black community. You have to represent the larger community. Powell does that and Sharpton does not. You show me one position Powell as taken that "keeps the minorities down" and I will not take your earlier statement above as an uninformed, knee jerk slander on a man you do not know.

All I said was that white leaders of today don't help the situation at all and in turn "keep the minorities down" by not addressing the issues. I never said that Powell as an individual is keeping the minorities down, and I'm not the one who feels he doesn't represent the black community well. I took that from several other black posters in this forum and from friends of mine who are black. People don't feel he really cares about the true minorities which are not only black but more specifically the poor blacks. I agree that you have to represent more than this, that is what I was trying to say, but you somehow didn't grasp that. This so-called slander was not even mentioned. Others seemed to get my point, but you decided to twist my words around. I've boldfaced words I'd like you to re-read.

You said, "Basically what you are saying is that you want a black candidate who acts "white". Someone who doesn't force people to see the issues that the minorities are faced with everyday. Someone who continues to basically hold down the minorities"

So you tell me I want a black candidate who will act white and hold down minorities because I support Collin Powell. Its right there in black and white. That is not even close to summarizing what I said. I said you cannot win a general election by giving preference to the black community to the point where other groups feel excluded by the candidate.

I didn't twist anything you said around. You twisted my comments around, but thats not what bothers me. What bothers me is your comments about Powell trying to keep minorities down.

Give me one example of his policy or one example of a stated belief of his that would hold down minorities. Can you do it or is this criticism of Powell based in something other than a knowledge of the man's views?

That particular message was not written with you in mind! It was written to Kroger99 and his message about how the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons of the nation are too focused on the black community issues. I was making an exageration on the opposite end of the spectrum in reference more toward our current president than anyone. While Colin Powells name was involved in these posts, that does not mean I was refering to him. I admit that maybe I wasn't clear enough with whom I was speaking about, but do you understand now that I do not believe Colin Powell holds minorities down, though he doesn't help the issue either. I included him in my post because I have heard that he doesn't seem to care about the black community. He is a strong conservative and is does not associate himself with the NAACP. I'm sorry you misunderstood what I was trying to say, but I wasn't aware that it could be mistaken as meaning something else. I hope I cleared things up for you.

You are correct that Powell is a conservative and you are correct that he does not belong to the NAACP, but that does not necessarily mean he is against the black community or even apathetic toward it.

Maybe his attitude toward Bonds is the same as his attitude toward Bush. By that, I mean that he is his own man first and not a mouthpiece for anyone else. To me, thats a reason to admire and respect the man and its a great quality for a leader.

As for the people who say he does not care about the black community, I wish they could offer something stronger than his being conservative and not belonging to the NAACP.

You may be right, BUT, living in NY I see white leaders all but pandering to black communities. Playgrounds & parks in black areas are jam packed with brand new equipment for the children while the same places in white areas are neglected. Schools in black communities get a ton more funding & aid & so forth than school sin white areas. There are more resources given to minorities in NY than there are for whites. And it is the same white leaders whom you say are ignoring black issues & communities that are shelling out this funding & attention hand over fist.

They feel this way simply because he is a black man who does not but his color first. Powel lives by his merits not his skin tone. He does not seem the sort of man who would solely focus on the black community & that is why a lot of black people do not like him. They feel he does 'represent' them because he actually has something more stand for than his race.

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