Not in the least.
American democracy is kind of like a life raft.
It bobs around the ocean all the time. Your feet are always wet. Powell stayed away from politics during most of his speech at Rollins College, where his listeners included Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris. When Harris was acknowledged by a speaker, most of the audience in the ballroom cheered and jumped to their feet for an ovation, although there were large numbers of people who booed. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not the story.