Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama

It's official.

Colin Powell has endorsed Barack Obama.

He has chosen to support the most liberal person in the U.S. Senate to become president.

Has Powell had such a dramatic personal transformation that he feels comfortable supporting such a far Left candidate?

It's hard to reconcile Powell's choice with Powell's past.

Video.

The way Tom Brokaw teased Powell's announcement was sort of embarrassing. It reminded me of those silly "after the break" American Idol moments.

When Powell did get around to endorsing Obama, it was a rather odd little speech.

It seemed very scripted.

NBC should post the MTP transcript by noon, but in the meantime, here's MSNBC's summary of Powell's remarks:

[H]e 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.”

OK.

---Powell doesn't think Palin is qualified. He didn't address Obama's lack of experience.

---Powell said that Bill Ayers had become the central point of the McCain campaign in the past few weeks. That's a Dem talking point. It's ridiculous to say that Ayers has become the "central point." McCain and Palin continue to talk about the economy, foreign policy, and energy policy. They have never stopped addressing those issues. Ayers has not taken center stage.

---Powell is disturbed about the Muslim thing.

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.

Although Powell said McCain hasn't called Obama a Muslim, it's a smear by Powell to suggest that the McCain-Palin campaign is spreading misinformation about Obama being a Muslim.

Powell didn't name the Republicans responsible for spreading these rumors, but I think it's terribly irresponsible of him to paint the Republican Party with such a broad brush and attribute such tactics to the party as a whole.

Talk about guilt by association!

Furthermore, I agree with Powell's assertion that the individuals attempting to discredit Obama by falsely saying he's a Muslim is an insult.

That's why I have found the way Obama has denounced those rumors to be insulting as well. A subtle bigotry runs through Obama's campaign.

Since the primaries, underlying the Obama campaign's efforts to set the record straight on Obama as a practicing Christian is an anti-Muslim bias.

The message is: Don't be afraid of Barack. He's not one of those Muslims.

That has to offend Muslims. It should.

Powell is charging unnamed Republicans with insulting Muslims. I think the charge can be made that Obama and his camp have been insulting Muslims for months and months.

“[Powell] also “would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court.”

So Powell wouldn't have a problem with a liberal majority on the Supreme Court, a liberal House and Senate, and a liberal in the White House.

Do checks and balances trouble Powell?

McCain would be a good president, Powell said, but Obama is “a transformational figure” who would be an “exceptional” leader.

“I truly believe that at this point in Amserica’s [sic] history we need a president who will not just continue ... basically the policies we have followed in recent years,” he said. “We need a president with transformational qualities.”

For that reason, he said, “I will be voting for Barack Obama.”

"Transformational qualities"?

What does that mean, Obama as a "transformational figure"?

Is Powell referring to Obama as the most liberal person in the Senate? Is that what he thinks the country needs? A liberal extremist?

Powell's endorsement of Obama seems to be based in emotion rather than logic.

POWELL: 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 into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.

So Obama can inspire and has rhetorical abilities. Powell's impressed with his style.

What about his extreme liberal positions on the issues?

What about Obama's comments about our troops?

Obviously, GENERAL Powell is dismissing this statement about our troops in Afghanistan from the rhetorically gifted Obama: "We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there."

I was under the impression Powell was a believer in hard work, personal responsibility, discipline, self-reliance, and the American Dream, not the "spreading the wealth around" philosophy of Obama and others on the far Left.

Obviously, Powell must agree with the very liberal agenda of Obama and his Democrat colleagues.

He'll be voting for it.