Can we stop with the “Republican Colin Powell” crap? Powell is not, and I doubt he ever has been, a Republican.
I remember him telling a story on 60 Minutes that when he first reported to the Army as a 2nd Lt. he had an LBJ sticker on his VW Beetle and some crusty old Sgt. was giving in him hell about it and he decided never to let his political beliefs to be known again.
That story told me all I needed to know about him. He was just following orders from the Pubbies, didn’t really believe it.