With just 16 days left in the presidential campaign, retired Gen. Colin Powell today announced his support for Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
In an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Powell, a conservative Republican who served as secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration, said he would vote for Obama. However, he said he would not campaign for Obama.
The endorsement boosts credibility for the Obama campaign on defense and homeland security issues, which have been targeted by Republican candidate John McCain.
Colin Powell
“I think he is a transformational figure,” said Powell, who considered his own run for the White House in the mid-1990s. “He is a new generation coming onto the world stage and on the American stage. And for that reason, I’ll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.”
He cited Obama’s “ability to inspire” and his “rhetorical abilities,” adding, “He has both style and substance, he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president.”
Powell stressed that he was not deciding his support on the basis of race. Powell said he was troubled by the negativity of the McCain campaign, paricularly its focus on Obama’s connections former radical William C. Ayers.
He also said he didn’t believe McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was qualified to step into the presidency.
“I have been watching for a long time,” Powell said after the show. “Sen. Obama has demonstrated the kind of calm, patient, intellectual approach to solving problems that I think we need in this country.”
Powell said his choice was not a repudiation of the Iraq war. “My sole concern was where we’re going after January 2009, not what happened in 2003,” he said.
McCain told Fox News today that he continued to respect and admire Powell. He noted that he had the support of four former secretaries of state - Henry Kissinger, James Baker, Lawrence Eagleburger and Alexander Haig.
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2 Comments
#1. TripleX 10.19.2008
TITLE: POWELL ENDORSED CANDIDATE WHO SUPPORTS RADICALS - Let me explain another connection to a radical/terrorist. In 2006, Obama campaigned for a relative in Kenya, who was running for the Presidency. Obama’s cousins name is Raila Odinga. Subsequently, Odinga lost by 230,000 or so votes. He did not accept the loss. So he called for demonstrations by his political supporters who in turn committed ethnic cleansing and genocide. Point blank, this guy tried to subvert the election process and use blackmail until he got what he wanted. Here is a video that gives a good accounting of the events along with photo’s as proof of Obama and Odinga campaigning together. And Obama, used U.S. taxpayer money for this and his Senatorial position to help this terrorist. Titled: Barack Obama & Raila Odinga - Link: - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=S8QcpdUtxNQ&feature=related
#2. Joe Sax 10.19.2008
Sigh…The last resort of the Bush administration: call your opponents “terrorists”. That trick worked once, and worked twice. But eight years is enough time for american people to learn…
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