“…they still sort of look down on minorities.” Powell specifically pointed to October 2012 comments by former Alaska Gov. and Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin on the attacks in Benghazi, Libya. “When I see a former governor say that the president is ‘shuckin’ and jivin’ — that’s a racial-era slave term,” Powell said, referring to Palin’s words on Obama’s response.

Powell added that Republicans had become too preoccupied with the candidate-selection process, losing sight of the group’s overall message. “You’ve got to think first about what’s the party actually going to represent,” Powell said. “If it’s just going to represent the far right wing of the political spectrum, I think the party is in difficulty. I’m a moderate, but I’m still a Republican.”

Top Mitt Romney surrogate John Sununu turned heads after the announcement, suggesting that Powell’s Obama endorsement was motivated by race. Former Powell Chief Of Staff Lawrence Wilkerson remarked, “My party, unfortunately, is the bastion of those people — not all of them, but most of them — who are still basing their positions on race. Let me just be candid: My party is full of racists, and the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants President Obama out of the White House has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as commander-in-chief and president, and everything to do with the color of his skin, and that’s despicable.” click here to see video interview

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