BBC NEWS | Powell's Revealing Expression

"But Mr Powell said so many African-Americans were left unprotected because they were poor, rather than because they were black.

It 'should have been a blinding flash of the obvious... that when you order a mandatory evacuation, you can't expect everybody to evacuate on their own', he said. "

Now here I agree with Colin, that it's not a racist thing, it's a wealth thing. And while it isn't illegal to be poor, it might as well be.

The phrase "blinding flash of the obvious" is quite interesting. A "flash of the obvious" should be convincing, but if it is "blinding", aren't we saying that we will not be convinced, but will turn a "blind eye"? That would seem to be explain why the Bush administration didn't foresee the Katrina damage to New Orleans.

It would also explain why Bubba Colin didn't see that there was no proof of weapons in Iraq.