Putting aside the electoral impact -- or possible lack thereof -- of Powell's endorsement, his statement was powerful on its one terms. In particular, the defense he gave of American inclusiveness, and the assertion that such tolerance extends to Muslims, was a welcome intervention into an election season when the prime smear has been that one of the candidates adheres to the world's second most popular faith rather than its first, and that this somehow disqualifies him from office:
Kareem really was a Muslim. But what are the next ten words of the smear? Once it's established that he was of the Islamic faith, what does that mean? Was he any less American? Was his sacrifice any less heroic? People should spell out what they're implying here.
I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?[...]I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life.The photo, from The New Yorker:
Kareem really was a Muslim. But what are the next ten words of the smear? Once it's established that he was of the Islamic faith, what does that mean? Was he any less American? Was his sacrifice any less heroic? People should spell out what they're implying here. 
