Thread: Romney advisor says Colin Powell only supports Obama because he is black... as polls

Romney advisor says Colin Powell only supports Obama because he is black... as polls show this could be the most racially polarised election ever

• John Sununu claims Mr Powell is supporting the President's election campaign because of their shared race
• Says the former US Secretary of State - who is African American - did not make decision based on policy
• Poll show race for White House is racially divided with Obama supported by 80% of black and Hispanic voters but just 37% of whites
• Data also shows president is struggling to connect with whites who voted for him four years ago
  

By Sam Adams
PUBLISHED: 03:40 EST, 26 October 2012 | UPDATED: 11:41 EST, 26 October 2012




A top advisor to Mitt Romney has accused Colin Powell of endorsing the US president because they are both black - amid new evidence of a widening racial gap in the battle for the White House.
John Sununu said he did not believe General Powell, the former Republican Secretary of State under George W Bush, switched parties and endorsed Barack Obama because he likes his policies.
He said: ‘Frankly, when you take a look at Colin Powell, you have to wonder whether that’s an endorsement based on issues or whether he’s got a slightly different reason for preferring President Obama.’

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Support: Colin Powell (left) voted for Barack Obama (right) in 2008, and has announced he will do so again this year. The race for the White House has polarised voters along racial lines




Claim: John Sunumu has suggested that Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama's presidential campaign because they are both black

Asked to explain what he meant by Piers Morgan on CNN, he said: 'Well, I think when you have somebody of your own race that you’re proud of being president of the United States, I applaud Colin for standing with him.'
Mr Sununu, a former chief of staff under President George W Bush, later backed away from his racially-charged comment on Thursday night.

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But it immediately sparked outrage among Democrats just hours before a new poll showed a growing black-white divide in America’s viciously polarised politics.
The mixed-race Mr Obama successfully sold himself in 2008 as a 'post-racial' president who would bridge America’s historic black-white divide.

But a tracking poll for the Washington Post shows the president is struggling to connect with many of the white voters who supported him four years ago.



Revelation: Mr Powell, a former general, made his endorsement during an interview on CBS This Morning
While Mr Obama is still supported by the vast majority – some 80 per cent - of black and Hispanic voters, his share of whites has fallen from 43 percent in 2008 to 37 percent this year.

This puts him 23 points behind Mr Romney among white voters.

The survey shows that Mr Obama’s dwindling popularity since he was trounced by Mitt Romney in their first TV debate has been particularly severe among white voters in three categories - men, people without university degrees and those who describe themselves as politically uncommitted.
That last section is particularly important as both sides are aware that it is America’s relatively small number of swing voters who are likely to decide the election.

Attack: John McCain has criticised Mr Powell for giving his support to the Obama campaign

The survey provided additional good news for Mr Romney, seeing him pull ahead of Mr Obama overall by 50 percent of the national vote to 47 percent.

Despite the exodus of white voters from the Democrats, the tracking poll showed that they still distrust Mr Romney.
Forty eight percent of white voters said a Romney presidency would do more to help the rich while most of them believe Mr Obama will do more to assist the middle class.
Mr Sununu's comments followed an attack on Mr Powell by former presidential candidate John McCain who said he has 'harmed his legacy' by turning away from the Republican Party.


Worry: Mr Obama's support among white voters is flagging, according to a new poll


Change: Mr Powell has criticised Mitt Romney's shifting position on many foreign policy issues

A poll by Time magazine also showed Mr Obama doing badly among white voters in Ohio, widely seen as the state that Mr Romney must win if he is to have a chance of taking the White House.

According to the survey, the president is trailing the Republican by six per cent among whites in the state even though Mr Obama rescued a US car industry that is one of Ohio’s main sources of jobs.

Compounding alarm for the Democrats, there is growing concern that many African-Americans have lost enthusiasm for the once-inspirational president and may not turn out on polling day.

Mr Powell served in the Vietnam War before entering public life as President Reagan's National Security Advisor.

He oversaw the conduct of the Gulf War as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and was Secretary of State during the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Read more: John Sununu: Mitt Romney advisor says Colin Powell only endorsed Obama 'because he's black' | Mail Online

Powell is no more a Republican than Obama is. Never was. I wrote him off as useless after he convinced GH Bush to back off of Saddam Hussein and Iraq in the first Gulf War. We were there. We had everything we needed to finish the job , and Powell did not have the guts to finish the job. So GW Bush had to go in later, at a much higher cost in lives and treasure.