Fox News has an item about a possible Colin Powell endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama that relies on absolutely nothing but race to justify the speculation.

Under the headline “Hip-Hop Dancing Colin Powell Fuels Speculation He’ll Endorse Obama” — yes, you read that correctly! — Fox “reports” the following:

The normally staid former U.S. secretary of state and chairman of the Joint chiefs of staff performed an impromptu hip-hop dance alongside well-known rap stars Tuesday following a speech at a festival in London celebrating African-American music and fashion.

His address at the “Africa Rising” celebration inside London’s Royal Albert Hall fueled speculation that an endorsement of Barack Obama is imminent.

Fox provides absolutely no evidence that Powell “fueled” anything.

It quotes from a Powell speech at Royal Albert Hall that simply expresses pride in his African-American heritage. And for good measure, the “report” contains this line, which would never in a million years be written about a white politician:

“Colin Powell has his dancing shoes on, fueling speculation that he’s gearing up to do the Obama Two-Step.”

Yeah, it had to be a two-step.

Basically, Fox News viewed a black man expressing pride in being black and figured he’d endorse the black presidential candidate.

I don’t really know what you’re supposed to say about this crap except that it’s racist. First the “terrorist fist-jab” on-camera incident and now this.

Fox has proven that it will never be ashamed of itself.

How does O’Donnell know this? He never makes that clear, preferring to write with a cat-got-a-canary coyness that suggests authority but could easily conceal total ignorance:

The recent ugliness of the McCain-Palin rally audiences cannot be lost on Colin Powell. And Powell is not one to ignore a 14 point lead in a New York Times poll. But most important for Powell and the press will be his explicit rejection of the Bush-McCain approach to Iraq, Iran and the rest of the world.

Maddening stuff. Is O’Donnell saying that Powell will endorse Obama or that he should? Despite the depths to which his service to George W. Bush plunged him, Powell remains a massively popular and respected figure, and if there’s any undecided voter left in the country, Powell’s endorsement would push him or her to Obama.

But that’s not the same thing as being able to report that Powell will endorse Obama! Allison, if I ever wrote anything like O’Donnell just wrote, would you ever in a million years publish it?