I wonder how Colin Powell felt standing behind the podium as the opening night featured speaker of the 1996 Republican National Convention. Even from my distant vantage point in the far recesses of the San Diego Convention Center, Powell emanated presidential poise. His positive attitude was overwhelmingly contagious, as evidenced by the audience's hearty reception. But it was his presidential poise, the rare quality which overrides political inexperience by oozing leadership, that engulfed my little corner on the convention floor.

So how did it feel, Mr. Powell?

To look across the vast sea of captivated and eager faces, to hear the thundering applause after every phrase and to bask in the lights of national television?

I wonder if Colin Powell ever paused, consciously or subconsciously, to see through his black eyes the waves of white faces staring back. I couldn't help but notice how the cameras constantly tried zooming into the few African-American faces in the crowd.

At the Youth Pavilion just outside the convention, the Young Voters Programs also heard spirited exhortations from current leaders. Instead of Colin Powell, the future of the Republican Party listened to Raynard Jackson and Ron Christie and Armstrong Williams, all African Americans on the political rise. Instead of peering into a crowd of white delegates, these men were surrounded by white students.

In his message, Powell emphasized inclusion. Yet inclusion of minorities was glaringly absent from the delegate section. The Young Voters Programs, a glimpse into the Republican leadership in 2025, is also predominantly white male. The Boston Globe reported that only seven percent of the blacks in America identify themselves with the Grand Old Party. In California, 90 percent of Latinos registering for the first time sign onto the Democratic Party. So what does this mean for the party and its future?

Doubling and tripling efforts in reaching out to people of color sounds too easy to be effective. And it is. Residents of Chinatown do not want the Republican message translated into Chinese; they want the party to address issues that Chinese-Americans hold dear to their hearts. To best reach those minority citizens, the Republican Party needs to inspire leaders from within.

So we come back to the idea of presidential poise and Colin Powell. For Republicans working to increase minority involvement, Powell's endorsement of the party is a tremendous boon. His leadership is one that transcends racial demarcations. He has the ability to excite the white delegates. More importantly, Powell brandishes the key to unlocking the power and vitality of America's minorities. His leadership marks a new era in the Republican Party. People need not stop with "the party of Lincoln." Why not say "the party of Lincoln and Powell?"