On the October 20 edition of Clear Channel's The Big Show with Bill Cunningham, guest Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson said of former Secretary of State Colin Powell's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama: "[H]e's clearly for the color of the man and not the character." Cunningham replied, “Great comments, and if Obama was white as chalk, do you think that Powell would be endorsing the Democrat? He didn't endorse [Al] Gore, he didn't endorse [Sen. John] Kerry. I think color trumps everything in his mind.” Peterson responded: “That's right, because if it was about what Barack Obama stood for, then he would have endorsed Gore and all those guys, but he did not. You know, it's so sad, my friend, that most black people today are racist. Not all, not all -- but most of them are racist.”

Later in the discussion, Peterson said: “Most black people are -- have a socialist mentality. They depend on the government, they don't get married, most of them don't work hard, they look to the government to take care of them, and if we allow the socialist Barack Obama to get in, our country would become that way, and we will be in real trouble.”

In previous media appearances, Peterson has called the NAACP “a hate group,” claimed the organization is “a tool of the liberal elite socialist wing of the Democratic Party,” and stated that “crime and out-of-wedlock birth, black folks having babies without being married, and stuff like that is out of control.” According to Peterson, “Not all ... but most of them lack moral character. Look what they did to the [Louisiana Super]dome. In three days, they turned the Dome into a ghetto.”

Additionally, Cunningham said to Peterson: “Another sad thing about this whole thing is that Planned Parenthood has thrown all of its resources behind Obama.” Cunningham went on to assert: “And there has been no institution in America that's killed more black babies than Planned Parenthood. And Planned Parenthood endorses Obama, who, of course, claims to be black, although his mother's white. And you have the circumstance where Planned Parenthood is in the business of killing black babies in the black community, and so many African-Americans can't figure it out.”

Peterson said of abortion: “It's a -- it's a genocide upon the black community, and yet you have Barack Obama and Colin Powell who support abortion.” He added: “As a matter of fact, Barack Obama supports abortion at any point -- whether it's partial-birth abortion or if a baby should come out alive after the woman has a botched abortion -- Barack Obama wants the baby to die on the table, do not give the baby medical care, but let it die.”

Peterson's claim was based on Obama's opposition to a bill amending the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975, which, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted, Obama and other opponents said posed a threat to abortion rights and was, they said, unnecessary because Illinois law already prohibited the conduct being addressed by the bill. Indeed, as Media Matters noted, when tasked by the Illinois attorney general's office with investigating allegations that fetuses born alive at an Illinois hospital were abandoned without treatment, the Illinois Department of Public Health reportedly said it was unable to substantiate the allegations but said that if the allegations had proved true, the conduct alleged would have been a violation of existing Illinois law.

From the October 20 broadcast of Clear Channel's The Big Show with Bill Cunningham:

CUNNINGHAM: All right now, Billy Cunningham. My friend from BOND, B-O-N-D, the honorable Jesse Lee Peterson, said that “Secretary Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama is disappointing but not surprising. Republicans know that Colin Powell is a moderate to liberal Republican, but for him to endorse a socialist like Barack Obama in such a critical election is an act of betrayal to the Republican Party and to the nation. Mr. Powell says he's not supporting Obama because of his race, but he did not identify a single substantive policy issue that they agree on. Therefore, I have to believe that Powell's decision to endorse was partly motivated by race. It appears that Colin Powell, like 96 percent of black Americans, is blindly following a charismatic, socialist 'transformational figure' without substance. It's unfortunate.” That's my buddy, the Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson. The Reverend Jesse Lee, welcome again to the Bill Cunningham show.

PETERSON: How're you doing, man?

CUNNINGHAM: Well, I mean, recently the endorsement by your friend Colin Powell I thought was bad for two reasons. One is that every elected, or shall I say, appointed office he has held, he held because of either Ronald Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43; plus the Bushes appointed his son to be chairman of the FCC. And secondly, while he and McCain were serving so well in Vietnam, Obama's good friend Bill Ayers blew up the Pentagon and tried to kill American soldiers during the Vietnam War. Yet one of them is endorsing his buddy Obama. What is your read, and what impact will it have on the black community, Jesse Lee?

PETERSON: Well, you know, as I said in my -- in my press release today, that Secretary Powell's endorsement of Senator Barack Obama is disappointing but not surprising. I believe Republicans know that Powell is a moderate liberal. He supports affirmative action, he supports abortion, and I think that they're not really surprised that he would endorse a socialist liberal like Barack Obama. And I think that, without a doubt, he's doing it because Obama first is a black liberal, so it's about the color of the man and not the character of the man, that Colin Powell is endorsing this guy.

And, you know, it's not going to have a great impact. Barack Obama already have -- has 96 percent of black people voting for him, and I have to add that -- add to that is that there's no -- and 85 percent of these black people say that they believe in God, but I have to say that there's no way, no way, no way you could believe in God or be a child of God and support a far-left liberal such as Barack Obama. And, so, disappointing in Colin Powell but not surprised. I think it's a betrayal to the Republican Party and to our nation for Colin to do this, because he knows that Barack Obama's a weak man, he knows that Barack is going to cater to our enemies, try to appease them and that -- and put our country at risk. But he's clearly for the color of the man and not the character.

CUNNINGHAM: Great comments, and if Obama was white as chalk, do you think that Powell would be endorsing the Democrat? He didn't endorse Gore, he didn't endorse Kerry. I think color trumps everything in his mind.

PETERSON: That's right, because if it was about what Barack Obama stood for, then he would have endorsed Gore and all those guys, but he did not. You know, it's so sad, my friend, that most black people today are racist. Not all, not all -- but most of them are racist. That's why they can't get away from the race issue and focus on the character. And there are many black Republicans, and I've been saying for the last 18 years is that they are in the party not because they agree with the platform of the party, but because they've been told that there should be blacks in the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, and so they want to influence the Republican Party with their liberal ideas, and we're starting to see that coming out now with the support of Barack Obama.

CUNNINGHAM: Another sad thing about this whole thing is that Planned Parenthood has thrown all of its resources behind Obama. Eighty-nine percent of the clinics of Planned Parenthood are located in the black community. And there's been calls made from California -- California college kids to Planned Parenthood clinics, promising donations on condition that the donations go to abort black babies. And there has been no institution in America that's killed more black babies than Planned Parenthood. And Planned Parenthood endorses Obama, who, of course, claims to be black, although his mother's white. And you have the circumstance where Planned Parenthood is in the business of killing black babies in the black community, and so many African-Americans can't figure it out.

PETERSON: Every day. Every day. Every day, over 1,500 black babies are aborted, every day. And since the early '70s, according to the Census Bureau, over 15 million black babies have been aborted. It's about the money and not the babies. It's a -- it's a genocide upon the black community, and yet you have Barack Obama and Colin Powell who support abortion. As a matter of fact, Barack Obama supports abortion at any point -- whether it's partial-birth abortion or if a baby should come out alive after the woman has a botched abortion -- Barack Obama wants the baby to die on the table, do not give the baby medical care, but let it die.

And you know, the unfortunate thing is that -- and I've often said this, too -- is that most of the black preachers are not called by God, but by their mama, and as a result of this you don't see an outcry from the black community. I mean, yeah, from the black preachers about Barack Obama's support of abortion or the fact that most of Planned Parenthood abortion mills are located within the black communities, and that is because -- again, it's not about the character -- it's about the color, it's about money and power. They care about that more than anything else.

CUNNINGHAM: You know, on the abortion thing, McCain missed some great openings during last week's debate. When Obama talked about abortion, he should have said, “Look, Senator Obama, you think the federal government should fund abortions. Most Americans, even who agree with abortions, say that shouldn't happen.” And he also should have said, “Look, you're against parental notification if your under-aged daughter is gonna have an abortion.” Obama is so extreme he doesn't think parents should be notified. This guy is on the left side of NARAL. He's left of Planned Parenthood, which is not much political space to occupy. But McCain is incapable of calling him on it.

PETERSON: Well, you know what it is, for the last 50 years or so, white Americans have allowed themselves to be intimidated by the so-called black leadership -- Jesse Jackson and the NAACP and others -- and they are afraid of being called a racist. And I am sure that that's the primary reason that Senator McCain will not deal with Barack Obama in the way that he would deal with him if he was a white Democrat running.

CUNNINGHAM: Right.

PETERSON: He would be on this guy, but because he's afraid of being called a racist, he is letting this guy fly by, and we could possibly end up -- God forbid -- but we could end up with a far-left liberal socialist running our country. And you can -- if you doubt what socialism will do for you, just look at the urban areas around the country. Most black people are -- have a socialist mentality. They depend on the government, they don't get married, most of them don't work hard, they look to the government to take care of them, and if we allow the socialist Barack Obama to get in, our country would become that way, and we will be in real trouble.

CUNNINGHAM: Well, Jesse Lee, if Obama is such a great leader and such an agent of change and such a great reformer, how's his work been on the mean streets of south Chicago the past 12 years? Has he succeeded there?

PETERSON: Not at all. As a matter of fact, it's worse. It is worse today than it was before he got there.