It’s a good thing for Republicans that Colin Powell is still one of them.

Powell, the popular former secretary of state and chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, handily beats Republican presidential candidate John McCain in a one-on-one match-up. This comes at a time when Barack Obama holds a very slight lead over McCain in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Powell, the best-known African-American in the Republican Party, beats McCain more than two-to-one, 54% to 26%, with 21% of voters undecided.

An identical number of Democrats (75%) prefer either Obama or Powell over McCain.
But while 84% of GOP voters favor McCain against Obama, just 48% favor him over Powell, who pulls 35% of GOP voters in a contest with his fellow Republican.

Unaffiliated voters give the edge to McCain over Obama 41% to 35%. But Powell beats McCain among unaffiliateds 44% to 21%.

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In a separate survey, 81% of voters say relations between whites and blacks are better than in the 1960s and 62% say those relations are getting better. Only 16% say they’re getting worse, while 18% say things are just about the same. These numbers are comparable to findings on the same questions in July.

Rumors have circulated in recent days that Powell is being considered as a running mate for McCain, but the former Secretary of State has rejected that possibility. Powell himself has spoken positively about Obama, and there has been a great deal of speculation that Powell will endorse Obama, perhaps even at this week’s Democratic National Convention. Powell also has denied that.

Women don’t favor McCain in either scenario. Female voters prefer Obama 45% to 40% and Powell 56% to 22%. Men are divided.

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