Powell Blames Media and Tea Party for Divisive Nature in Washington.

NewsBusters ^ | 27 November 2011 | Noel Sheppard

[Evergolightly]

Colin Powell on Sunday blamed the media as well as the Tea Party for the divisive political tone in Washington.

Not surprisingly, neither the class warfare stoked by President Obama and his Party nor the resulting Occupy Wall Street movement was mentioned during this seven minute interview with Christiane Amanpour on ABC's This Week (video follows with transcript and commentary):

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, HOST: What about this tone in the country right now? It's still very divisive. It's still very sort of brash, some say poisonous. I mean, you can barely get anything done on Capitol Hill, just behind me there. What needs to be done, to actually improve the tone and the ability of people to work together?

COLIN POWELL: The tone is not -- is not good right now, and our political system here in Washington, particularly up on The Hill -- Congress -- has become very, very tense in that two sides, Republicans and Democrats, are focusing more and more on their extreme left and extreme right. And we have to come back toward the center in order to compromise.

A story I like to tell is our Founding Fathers were able to sit in Philadelphia and make some of the greatest compromises known to man -- tough, tough issues. But they did it. Why? Because they were there to create a country, where we have a Congress now that can't even pass an appropriation bill, and we're running this country on a continuing resolution which is -- what else are they here for but to pass appropriations bills?

And so we have got to find a way to start coming back together. And let me say this directly. The media has to help us. The media loves this game, where everybody is on the extreme. It makes for great television. It makes for great chatter. It makes for great talk shows all day long with commentators commenting on commentators about the latest little mini-flap up on Capitol Hill.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/11/27/colin-powell-blames-media-and-tea-party-divisive-tone-washington#ixzz1ezoL2hGt

[Evergolightly]

Well he is half right just like our half white quota picked sock puppet president.

I get tired of Colin Powell and his pontificating about politics. This man voted for Obie because he was black!

Colin Powell has proven to me he is a fraud and a suck up to anyone in power to further his own career.

I find no honor in Powell and am disgusted by his pathetic tone.

[pepsionice]

If you read the whole text of the Powell argument....he basically suggests that slavery is ok, if you are building up a government to oppose the king. I can’t think of anyone who would stand and agree on this idea. What he doesn’t suggest...is that a Tea Party-like mentality swept the nation in 1860, and caused Lincoln to be elected....to fix what the founding fathers couldn’t fix. He kind of left that statement out.

[silverleaf]

yah, Colin, the Founding Fathers were centrists ... sarc

Did anyone mention that to the British?

[mkjessup]

"Kids, stay away from those Tea Parties, and let me finish this Afghan, ok?"

[Northern Yankee]

I think you hit it right on the head.

He has lost any honor he might have built up in his lifetime.