Posted on 10/19/2008 7:56:13 AM PDT by JustTheTruth
WASHINGTON - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for president on Sunday, criticizing his own Republican Party for what he called its narrow focus on irrelevant personal attacks over a serious approach to challenges he called unprecedented.
Powell, who for many years was considered the most likely candidate to become the first African-American president, said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he was not supporting Obama because of his race. He said he had watched both Obama and his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, for many months and thought “either one of them would be a good president.”
But he said McCain’s choices in the last few weeks — especially his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his vice presidential running mate — had raised questions in his mind about McCain’s judgment.
“I don’t believe [Palin] is ready to be president of the United States,” Powell said flatly. By contrast, Obama’s running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, “is ready to be president on day one.”
Powell also said he was “troubled” by Republican personal attacks on Obama, especially false intimations that Obama was Muslim and Republicans’ recent focus on Obama’s alleged connections to William Ayers, the founder of the radical ’60 Weather Underground.
Stressing that Obama was a lifelong Christian, Powell denounced Republican tactics that he said were insulting not only to to Obama but also to Muslims.
“The really right answer is what if he is?” Powell said, praising the contributions of millions of Muslim citizens to American society.
“I look at these kind of approaches to the campaign, and they trouble me,” Powell said. “Over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party has become narrower and narrower.”
In an interview Sunday on Fox News, McCain said he was not surprised by the announcement.
“I’ve always admired and respected General Powell,” said McCain, who cited the endorsements he had received from former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, Alexander Haig, James Baker and Lawrence Eagleburger. “We have a respectful disagreement.”
Powell, a retired Army general who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the first President Bush before becoming secretary of state in the current administration, is one of the most highly decorated military officers of modern times and an admired figure in both parties. The Obama campaign is likely to cite the endorsement as an answer to critics and undecided voters who have questioned the foreign policy credential of Obama, a first-term senator whose national experience amounts to four years in the Senate.
Powell said a major part of his decision to turn his back on his own party was his conclusion that Obama was the better option to repair frayed U.S. relations with allies overseas.
“This is the time for outreach,” Powell said, saying the next president would have to “reach out and show the world there is a new administration that is willing to reach out.”
In particular, he said, he welcomed Obama’s president to “talk to people we haven’t talked to,” a reference to Obama’s controversial pledge to hold talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
“I think that [Obama] has a definite way of doing business that will serve us well,” Powell said.
Liar.
Powell held out till he got the position he wanted in the new order.
This tells me that Colin Powell does not know the Christ !
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
Oh yeah...he's a transformational figure, all right.
What a dope.
Move along. Nothing to see here.
Exactly.
Remember when Powell was wringing his hands, decrying how hard it was to decide which party he should affiliate with.
Obama was born of a Muslim father... to the muslims, case closed! He is Muslim. I do not hear anyone threatening to cut his head off though. Of course I don't hang around with Taliban Muslims either.
General Powell has chosen the path of IGNORANCE! For a General in the United States Army he has learned nothing from history.
General Petraus understood the Muslim culture. Based upon knowledge of their culture he changed the course of the war. That is why he will go down in history as an American hero.
Sing it with me now:
“Transformers?” ... “more than meets the eye!”
Lifelong Christian my ***.
Great analysis.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14714.html
...
“As a key reason, Powell said: “I would have difficult with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that’s what we’d be looking at in a McCain administration.”
Powell, once considered likely to be the nation’s first African-American presidential nominee, said his decision was not about race.”
...
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I fear for my children.
Adolf Hitler was a “transformational figure” too.
God help us all.
I have lost all respect for Powell.
Nope. Actually Powell was the reason we had to have a second war in Iraq. Swarzkopf wanted to wipe out Saddams' republican guard and topple Saddam in 1992 but Powell talked Bush into letting Saddam stay.
The pundits occasionally ask where Obambi is going to find his savings to fund his socialism. No one mentions the obvious: mostly he's going to gut military spending. This is sad in so many ways since our military is the driver of new technology development, such as a real replacement for petroleum, weather control, robotics. The source of America's great wealth originates with military spending on new technology. We are about to witness the fall of modern Rome.
My recall was that the UN resolution made the stipulation that we would only free Kuwait oil fields & NOT go after Saddam. We were living up to those resolutions. However, I stated at the time that as president I would not agree to that & would have forced the resolution further.
This will backfire. Voters will see it for the bald-faced racism that it is.
““The really right answer is what if he is?” Powell said, praising the contributions of millions of Muslim citizens to American society.”
Because we are a nation based on Judeo-Christian values. Got it? NOT ISLAM!
BTW, Obama is not a lifelong Christian. A lifelong Christian would not have Hussein as their middle name or Barack for their first name!
Do you have any idea how many Christians actually have Arabic, Middle Eastern sounding names?
Don't be ignorant.....
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