BREAKING NEWS: Obama Backed By Colin Powell

[GamTrak]

YAY a well respected Republican that has some common sense.

===================​

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has endorsed Barack Obama for President of the United States.

The move is a huge boost for Democrat Mr Obama as Mr Powell served under current President George Bush during his first term.

He had also been talked about as a possible running mate for Mr Obama's Republican rival John McCain, a man with whom he had worked for many years.

Sky's Ian Woods, reporting from Washington, said the decision was a "major setback" for the McCain campaign.

Appearing on NBC's Meet The Press, Mr Powell described Mr Obama as a "transformational figure".

He said that both he and Mr McCain were qualified to be Commander-in-Chief but that Mr Obama was more suited to dealing with the current economic problems.

He criticised the McCain campaign and said there had been a shift to the right in the Republican party.

He also said that he did not believe that Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin was ready to be President.

The news came as it was revealed that Mr Obama raised more than $150m (87m) for his campaign in September, breaking the record of $66m (38m) he set the previous month.

Unlike his Republican rival John McCain, Mr Obama chose not to accept public funding for his campaign, leaving him free to raise millions privately.

The amount of money raised has allowed him to blanket the airwaves with advertising in the run-up to the November 4 poll.

Mr Obama's campaign has purchased a half-hour prime-time television slot on October 29, six days before the election, to make its final push.

His campaign added 620,000 new donors last month to bring the total to 3.1 million.

The average donation for the month was less than $100 (58).

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

 

[suzecat]

Hot off the Press! er, video...........

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

 

[RobWin]

What a major endorsement this is to receive Colin Powell's vote...who could not admire this man, a true leader and he even served as Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor, serving from 1987 to 1989.

Powell opposed the majority of George H.W. Bush Administration officials who advocated the deployment of troops to the Middle East to force Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to withdraw his armies from neighboring Kuwait, believing the dictator could instead be contained through sanctions and a buildup of forces around Kuwait.

As an officer, Powell also valued loyalty very highly. As a military strategist, he has advocated an approach to military conflicts that maximizes the potential for success and minimizes casualties. A component of this approach is the use of overwhelming force, which he applied to Operation Desert Storm in 1991. His approach has been dubbed the "Powell Doctrine."

Colin Powell's experience in military matters made him a very popular figure with both American political parties. Many Democrats admired his moderate stance on military matters, while many Republicans saw him as a great asset associated with the successes of past Republican administrations. Powell eventually declared himself a Republican, and began to campaign for Republican candidates.

In July 2007 Powell revealed that he spent two and a half hours trying to persuade George W. Bush not to invade Iraq but that he did not prevail. At the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado Powell stated, "I tried to avoid this war. I took him [Bush] through the consequences of going into an Arab country and becoming the occupiers."

Powell went on to say that he believed Iraq was in a state of civil war. "The civil war will ultimately be resolved by a test of arms. It's not going to be pretty to watch, but I don't know any way to avoid it. It is happening now." He further noted, "It is not a civil war that can be put down or solved by the armed forces of the United States," and suggested that all the U.S. military could do was put "a heavier lid on this pot of boiling sectarian stew."

 

[GamTrak]

I've always respected Powell, but was very upset that he was the one to bring the "Weapons of Mass Distruction" lie to the World and United Nations and took a ton of flack for it!

I'm glad that he is being his own man and not 'following the crowd'.