It’s been a few days now since former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell appeared on the NBC’s “Meet the Press” to announce his endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, but the impact is still reverberating.

On one side are the people who see Powell’s endorsement as nothing but a plus — a solid vote of confidence from a battle-tested Republican and long-time friend of John McCain who expressed faith in Obama’s ability to handle tough national security and foreign policy issues.

On the opposite side is right-wing ringleader Rush Limbaugh, who wasted no time Sunday issuing his sneering, insulting judgment that Powell’s nod was based soley on race.

Elsewhere along the continuum are those who have never forgiven Powell his role in launching the war against Iraq, and who wonder whether the general’s endorsement of the staunchly anti-war Obama could be some attempt at atonement for his sins.

Me, I’m kind of lukewarm about Powell — I’m still pretty bugged about his role in the Iraq war, even if George W. Bush and company probably did lie to get him on the team.

I do suspect Powell’s stamp of approval will ultimately help Obama win votes among some late deciders  — maybe some Republicans and Independents –  but that’s not what gave me goose bumps during his Sunday speech.

What I can’t get out of my head is what Powell said about Cpl. Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan,  a 20-year-old Muslim soldier who gave his life for his country — for America — while fighting with the U.S. Army in Iraq.

The story of Cpl. Khan’s sacrifice came in the middle of Powell’s lengthy dissection of what he sees is a troubling course for the Republican Party, and his explanation of why he’s chosen to diverge from it.

The Republican Party, said Powell, has narrowed its focus, becoming less inclusive and relying more and more on negative, fear-based campaigning.

For example, Powell said, despite what’s being said as part of an attempted smear campaign waged by many senior Republicans, Barack Obama is not a Muslim. But what if he was? Is there something wrong with a little Muslim boy wanting to grow up and be president?

“I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine,” Powell explained.  “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 a 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 could go serve his country, and he gave his life.”

I immediately knew I wanted to learn more about this soldier, so I Googled his name and found this. I learned that this man — a boy, really — loved orange Starbursts and playing video games with his little sister. He was spoiled by his mom and dad but he wanted to prove that not all Muslims were anti-American fanatics so he signed up to fight. He was loved by his family and he was brave and he died, just like the thousands of other Americans who have given their lives in a war that our leaders lied our country into — not to mention the thousands and thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens who have perished as well.

I was still thinking about Cpl. Khan’s sacrifice this week when I read about the local GOP leader who ignorantly called Obama a “Muslim socialist.”  And it brought me right back to Powell’s torment about the direction of the GOP and his story about Cpl. Khan.

I have written before about my preference for living in a diverse, multicultural society not dominated by any particular racial or religious group. It’s a view that’s shared by my family and friends, not to mention millions of other Americans who would never consider simply hating certain groups of people on sight, or defaming them based on stereotypes that have no basis in fact.

A small handful of NMI readers have consistently missed my point, somehow twisting my preference into hyper-racial sensitivity or even (gasp!) anti-white racism. And I know this is not an isolated sentiment in some conservative circles, because I hear this line of reasoning every day from Limbaugh and his imitators.

Hey, I listen to that crap sometimes. So I am aware that people like me, in addition to being “racists,” are also “socialists” and “hate America.”

But, for the life of me, I don’t understand how saying I want to live among people of all creeds and colors people is racist and anti-American, while yelling “Obama Bin Lyin!”  and “He’s a terrorist!” and “Kill him!” at Sarah Palin and John McCain rallies isn’t. Or declaring all Muslims “our enemies.”

I know that millions of Americans stand with me — including Gen. Powell, bless him — in feeling that way.

I just worry about the millions who don’t.