Powell gave a long list of explicit reasons not only why he was endorsing Obama but why he did not trust Romney on both domestic issues and foreign affairs
By Sununu's standard any white person is voting for Romney must be doing so because Romney is white
When the tea party first began to gain prominence I distinctly remember pundits asking the question, are tea party members and the tea party movement itself racist? The reasoning behind this question was that because there are few minorities and women in the tea party and the majority of participants are white males that this meant the tea party was both a racist and possibly even a sexist movement.
Interviews were conducted at tea party rallies asking members if they were racist basically because they were white males who gathered in large numbers and disagreed with Obama. Tea party members denied the allegations of racism and gave several reason (mostly invalid and often paranoid in my opinion)why they disliked Obama and his policies.
Yet, that wasn't enough for the media who continue to brand the tea party a racist movement and continued to ask the racism question. My point is that it seems as though it is acceptable to accuse white males of basing their voting decisions on race but such questions are inappropriate when the person is a minority.
The question is even more appropriate in Powell's case because he is breaking from a party he has supported for decades. His rationale that he suddenly disagrees with the policy direction of the Republican party is weak. First, the policy direction of the Republican party hasn't changed much in decades. Secondly, Romney wants to continue on the same policy and ideological track as the Bush administration, an administration he gladly served in, and who policies he supported and argued for.