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That statement was irrelevant, untrue, and utterly uncalled for.

General Powell does not owe his stars to affirmative action. By all indicators I have seen following him for many years, he was an excellent combat commander, well liked by his men, respected by his superiors, honest and plain spoken.

As Commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the First Gulf War, he did an excellent job of communicating not only with the troops and the government, but in making the war aims understandable while fostering patriotic endeavor among the citizenry.

Is there anyone here who cannot remember his clear, frank and above all concise explanations of that era? "Our strategy to go after this army is very, very simple. First we're going to cut it off, and then we're going to kill it."

Let's not forget that in 1996, Conservatives across the nation -- I included -- were practically on hands and knees begging Powell to run for the Republican nomination, and if he had, he would have been a virtual shoo-in.

And let me go further.

Up until the day, the nano-second, when he announced his support for Obama, Colin Powell was one of the most respected names in the Republican Party and most of us -- again, including myself -- would have walked barefoot over hot coals for a chance to shake his hand.

OK. Times change. We find now his social positions and opinions are (or maybe never were) precisely in line with the values we hold as strict Conservatives. Why didn't we find out about that sooner? Because when he served as a soldier, then as Secretary of State, he supported his boss's position because that is what he swore to do and the man takes his oaths seriously.

He endorsed Obama. Ugh. He now supports gays in the military and gay marriage. I don't. Fine. Go ahead and blast him for that. He's a private citizen now, entitled to his opinions, just as we are entitled to disagree with them.

But to insinuate that he owes anything in his life to affirmative action is denigrate an undeniably stellar career, an absolutely first class mind, and an eminently honorable man.

Statements like yours make Free Republic and Conservatives seem every bit as racist as the Democrats say we are.