This morning on NBC's Meet The Press, former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Senator Barrack Obama.
Powell said, "And I come to the conclusion, that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities, and we have to take that into account, as well as his substance, he has both style and substance. He has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage and onto the American stage, and for that reason, I will be voting for Senator Barrack Obama."
During his opening remarks concerning this endorsement, Powell complimented both candidates as "distinguished Americans, patriotic, and dedicated to the welfare of Americans."
Powell discussed his reasoning on several issues as to how he came to this decision to support Barrack Obama.
Concerning the current economic crisis, Powell said, "In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to how to deal with the economic problems that we are having and almost every day there was a different approach to the problem and that concerned me. Sensing that he did not have a complete grasp of the economic problems we had."
The former Secretary of State also questioned John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as the vice-presidential candidate. "And I was also concerned at the selection of Governor Palin, she is a very distinguished woman and she is to be admired. But, at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don’t believe she is ready to be President of the United States which is the job of the vice president. And, so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made."
Powell went on to talk about the McCain campaign and the Republican Party in general. He condemned the recent McCain campaign's focus on the very tenuous relationship between Barrack Obama and Bill Ayers as "inappropriate" stating that this type of political campaigning "goes too far." He further condemned the Republican Party for allowing the inaccurate rumors of Senator Obama being a Muslim to even be spoken. "Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion he’s a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America."
What does it mean when a Republican who served two Republican Presidents endorses the Democratic nominee for president? At first glance, this endorsement shows the deepening rift splitting the Republican Party. As the McCain/Palin ticket has moved further right, many Republican centrists have found their own views in conflict with the GOP, thus being left out of their own party.
This endorsement will hurt John McCain's campaign. Large military populations in several toss-up states (Virginia, Florida, North Carolina) may take Powell's endorsement as their reasoning and best excuse for voting for the Obama/Biden ticket.
On a much larger scale, Republicans whose views are no longer aligned with the views of the McCain campaign or with the Republican Party may decide Colin Powell has made the only decision they can make on election day.
Here's the link to the entire Colin Powell Meet the Press interview: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27265490#27265490
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