And another thing about Powell. Forget Washington activists for a moment. What do — or did — ordinary Republicans and conservatives think about GeL. Powell’s presidential possibilities?” Is he conservative enough to be president, or simply too liberal? Or a third possibility: Do his obviously impressive personal qualities — that was one terrific press conference last week, wasn’t it? — outweigh ideological considerations and make him a good choice for the top job?
Steve Lombardo and Fred Steeper of Market Strategies polled this question in a national survey that ended Nov. 7.
Only 9 percent of 455 Republicans questioned believed Gen. Powell was “not conservative enough.”
By contrast, 11 percent thought Powell was “conservative enough,” and another 10 percent thought the general’s “character and integrity make up for his lack of conservative credentials.” “Too early to tell” and “undecided” made up the balance.
A subsample of self-described conservative Republicans answered these questions almost exactly the same way.
Twelve percent said “conservative enough,” 6 percent said Powell’s character and integrity were more important, and only 11 percent said the man just wasn’t Right.
Is it really so self-evident that the “right wing” of the Republican party would have blocked Colin Powell’s nomination?
