Powell Blasts Cheney and Limbaugh, Defends Bush On Interrogation Methods

May 24, 2009 1:34 p.m. EST

Washington, DC (AHN) - Retired general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell defended his Republic bonafides on a Sunday morning news talk show against critics who say he has recently shown more loyalty to the Democrat party.

Powell specifically aimed his comments at former Vice President Dick Cheney and popular conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh when he spoke on CBS News' "Face the Nation."

Cheney recently commented that Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama over Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, indicated he had left the GOP. And Limbaugh blasted Powell for saying Republicans should stop listening to conservatives like Limbaugh and that the party should become more moderate. Limbaugh said Powell should become a Democrat.

"Rush will not get his wish and Mr. Cheney was misinformed. I am still a Republican," Powell said.

Powell also said he took exception to Limbaugh's comments that Powell only backed Obama because he is black.

"I laid out a very specific set of reasons as to why I was voting for Barack Obama. Mr. Limbaugh saw fit to dismiss all those reasons and put it into a racial context," Powell said.

Powell did defend the Bush administration for using harsh interrogation methods against detainees following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He said the unprecedented nature of the attacks forced the administration to explore unique options.

"It's easy now in the cold light of day to look back and say, you shouldn't have done any of that. But as Mr. Cheney has said very, very often, as has President Bush and all of us, if we had another attack like 9/11, say on 9/11 a year later, nobody would have forgiven us for not doing everything we could," Powell said.