It must be painful for Sean Hannity to have to show deference and respect to a man who has been a respected Republican for years and voted for President Obama. Collin Powell is a great man – not because he voted for President Obama – but because he speaks to the moderate voices in the world….a world of common sense and he does not hue to the extremes of either party. Sean Hannity is a hack that only cares about his ratings; his niche is spewing bullshit throughout the land so the small but energetic audience that he has will be energized every time he throws them a piece of red meat. What he does for a living is bad for our country; there is no honesty among thieves apparently.
You can find the full transcript of the conversation between Colin Powell and Sean Hannity HERE:
HANNITY: That’s when you made the endorsement. You said because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, reaching out across America. The president himself has now said the Republican plan for this country is for dirty air and dirty water. You are still a Republican, right? That Republicans want kids with autism and Down’s syndrome, the elderly to fend for themselves. We have the Democratic ads, Paul Ryan look-alikes throwing granny over the cliff.
Does that sound inclusive? Seriously, because I find him one of the most divisive figures that I’ve witnessed in politics today.
POWELL: Well, that’s a term that’s being used rather freely. I don’t think it’s that divisive of an issue. I think we have right now, we have dueling points of view strongly held by both sides. And the president is starting to go to the mattresses, just as the Republicans are going to go to the mattresses to try to win the election.
What could have been more divisive than when President Obama was inaugurated for a number of Republicans, friends of mine and a number of commentators to say, we are going to destroy him. We are going to destroy him.
HANNITY: Who said that?
POWELL: A lot of people saying, I can get you a list, but I don’t want to just take it off –
HANNITY: I was one of the harshest critics. I wasn’t out to destroy him.
POWELL: I don’t ever remember you saying it.
HANNITY: Well, I was critical about Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright.
POWELL: I don’t know Bill Ayers from the man in the moon. Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright are just passing things through his life.
HANNITY: Twenty years in his church? Twenty years?
POWELL: Well, so?
HANNITY: Unrepentant terrorist giving speeches, starting your political career in his house, that didn’t impress you at all?
POWELL: At the time it was a guy who is living in Chicago and happened to have a friend by the name of Bill Ayers. But I don’t see Bill Ayers as having that kind of long-standing terrorist influence on the President. I mean, it is ancient history now. Why are we fooling with this?
HANNITY: Well, I don’t think it’s the issue. I think the economy and the president’s record — I couldn’t see you and Reverend Wright’s church for 20 years.
POWELL: I wasn’t in Reverend Wright — I didn’t know anything about Reverend Wright or his church.
HANNITY: I know but that’s my point.
POWELL: This thing explodes and it becomes a big — everybody tries to make it the defining issue of the 2008 campaign. And guess what, the American people heard it, they heard all the attacks, they heard all the things that were said about the Reverend Wright issue, then-Senator Obama gave a speech on it and the American people took it in stride and they elected him president.
Later in the interview….
HANNITY: But what I always thought was amazing about them is that they put in place a system to right wrongs, correct injustices and history has, I think, proven them right. I think you are agreeing with me.
POWELL: I fully agree with you. It’s a wonderful system. And it takes time sometimes. You have to ultimately to get a consensus from the people. The only way you get a consensus to move forward is for there to be compromise, so you can build a consensus.
HANNITY: Yes.
POWELL: We are not doing enough of that now. We’re not doing enough — OK, look, let’s have a drink, let’s play some poker together.
HANNITY: Tip O’Neill and Reagan.
POWELL: You got it!
HANNITY: What happened to that, Sean?
POWELL: It is not there anymore.
