If my political party was on the brink of a complete political melt down, who would I choose to listen to? Colin Powell or Rush Limbaugh?
Former Secretary of State Colin Luther Powell was born April 5, 1937 in Harlem, New York City, New York. Powell attended Morris High School, a former public school in The Bronx, from which he graduated in 1954. He earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from City College of New York, attaining a C average, according to his 2006 graduation address at Marymount University. He earned an MBA from The George Washington University, after his second tour in Vietnam in 1971.
Powell joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at City College, graduating from City College in June 1958; he received a commission as an Army second lieutenant. He was a professional soldier for 35 years, holding a variety of command and staff positions and rising to the rank of General. Powell served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War, serving as a South Vietnamese Army adviser from 1962 to 1963. While on patrol in a Viet Cong-held area, he was wounded by stepping on a punji stake. He returned to Vietnam as a major in 1968, serving in the Americal Division (23rd Infantry Division), then as assistant chief of staff of operations for the Americal Division.
Powell became senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, whom he assisted during the 1983 invasion of Grenada and the 1986 airstrike on Libya.
Following the Iran Contra scandal, Powell became Ronald Reagan’s National Security Advisor, serving from 1987 to 1989. In 1989, Powell was promoted to General and briefly served as the Commander in Chief, Forces Command headquartered at Fort McPherson, Georgia. Later that year, Reagan selected him as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Powell’s awards include: Defense Distinguished Service Medal (DDSM) with three oak leaf clusters; Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) with oak leaf cluster; Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster; Soldier’s Medal; Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart; Air Medal; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters; Presidential Medal of Freedom; Presidential Citizens Medal; National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star; Vietnam Service Medal with one silver service star; Army Service Ribbon (ASR) and the Army Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral 3.
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation; Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal; Honorary The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB) (United Kingdom); Légion d’honneur or Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur (French: “National Order of the Legion of Honour”); Meritorious Service Cross (Canada) and the Order of Stara Planina in the First Order (Bulgaria).
Congressional Gold Medal; the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Medal, the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal, and the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award.
In 1991, Powell was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, which “honors the achievements of outstanding individuals in U.S. society who have succeeded in spite of adversity and of encouraging young people to pursue their dreams through higher education.”
On November 9, 1993, Powell was awarded the second Ronald Reagan Freedom Award, by President Ronald Reagan. Powell served as Reagan’s National Security Advisor from 1987-1989.
On December 15, 1993, Colin Powell was made an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
In 1998, he was awarded the prestigious Sylvanus Thayer Award by the United States Military Academy for his commitment to the ideals of “Duty, Honor, Country.”
The 2002 Liberty Medal was awarded to Colin Powell on July 4 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In his acceptance speech, Powell reminded Americans that “It is for America, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, to help freedom ring across the globe, unto all the peoples thereof. That is our solemn obligation, and we will not fail.”
In 2005 Powell received the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for his contributions to Africa.
AARP honored Powell with the 2006 AARP Andrus Award, the Association’s highest honor. This award, named in honor of AARP’s founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, is presented biennially to distinguished individuals who have generated positive social change in the world, and whose work and achievements reflect AARP’s vision of bringing lifetimes of experience and leadership to serve all generations.
Powell is a recipient of the Silver Buffalo Award, the highest adult award given by the Boy Scouts of America.
Rush Limbaugh was born January 12, 1951 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He graduated from Cape Central High School, in 1969. His father and mother wanted him to attend college, so he enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University. He dropped out after two semesters and one summer; according to his mother, “he flunked everything”, even a modern ballroom dancing class.
Limbaugh’s birth date was ranked as 175 in the Vietnam War draft lottery. No one was drafted above 125. He was classified as “1-Y” meaning, “Registrant available for military service, but qualified only in case of war or national emergency. Usually given to registrants with medical conditions that were limiting but not disabling (examples: high blood pressure, mild muscular or skeletal injuries or disorders, skin disorders, severe allergies, etc.). Class discontinued in December 1971.” Rush was later reclassified “4-F” due to either a football knee injury or a diagnosis of Pilonidal disease.
Limbaugh was the 1992, 1995, 2000 and 2005 recipient of the Marconi Radio Award for Syndicated Radio Personality of the Year (given by the National Association of Broadcasters), joining the syndicated Bob & Tom Show as the only other four-time winners of a Marconi award. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1993.
In 2002, Talkers magazine ranked him as the greatest radio talk show host of all time.
March 29, 2007, Limbaugh was awarded the inaugural William F. Buckley, Jr. Award for Media Excellence, by the Media Research Center, a conservative media analysis group.
On January 5, 2008, the conservative magazine Human Events announced Limbaugh as their 2007 Man of the Year.
December 1. 2008, TV Guide reported that Limbaugh has been selected as one of America’s top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for a Barbara Walters ABC special that aired on December 4, 2008.
Gee, I don’t know. Who should I listen to? The college dropout turned talk show host who has never served his country, and who has zero foreign policy or national security experience? Or the former four star general, who has served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as Secretary of State?
The Liberty Tree 