By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Rush Limbaugh has a point, and the liberal media ought to recognize it: Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama largely because of race.

"I thought it should be about race," Limbaugh said Monday on his radio show. "I thought you liberals thought this is a historic candidacy because finally we're going to elect a black guy to be president. Why hide behind this? Why act like it's not about race? What, you want to tell us it's about his policies?"

There's nothing wrong with conceding -- even if you are supporters of Powell and Obama -- that race had a lot to do with Powell's decision.

After all, black men and women across this country are going to vote for Obama in waves. Polls show it will be a majority between 90 to 95 percent.

So where does Powell fit in all this?

Sure, he's been the darling of Republican politicians for years. That's how he became Secretary of State in George W. Bush's administration, after all.

But Powell has always been known as a moderate Republican. And it's simply not surprising that a black, moderate Republican would come out for Obama.

Limbaugh wasn't the only one agreeing that race played a big part in Powell's decision.

In his radio show, Limbaugh played a soundbite from Juan Williams of Fox News, who said:

"Of course it has to do with race. It has a lot to do with this sort of senior black man, sort of the original crossover race star in American politics, Colin Powell; I think reaching out to this younger black man, and I think in so many ways it goes beyond race. But I think Rush Limbaugh's right, if he says race is a definite factor here. In terms of his legacy, I think this will stand as a real monument reaching out to the -- potentially, the -- first black president of the United States."

Powell's endorsement was important for Obama, but was not a game-changer. In fact, it was more expected than unexpected.