Powell Supports Obama

Sunday night on "Meet the Press," former Secretary of State under Bush and a respected Republican, General Colin L. Powell, announced that he will be voting for Senator Barack Obama. When Tom Brokaw addressed the fact that many will perceive Powell's vote to be based on race, Powell replied "If I had only that in mind, I could have done this six, eight, 10 months ago... And it was only in the last couple of months that I settled on this." Rather Powell is endorsing Obama based on 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." Powell did not only focus on the Obama based reasons for his choice but also the "errors" McCain has made in his campaign. Powell believed that the introduction and attempt to associate William Ayers with Obama was inappropriate. He also said that he has heard older members of his own party suggest that Obama is a Muslim and terrorist as well. He finds all this troubling. Powell addressed McCain's decision to run with Sarah Palin as well. "...I don't believe she's 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." A point that I had not considered, Powell worried that with the election of McCain and Palin, there would be two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court due to the rightward shift Palin has evoked. In conclusion, Powell said, "I think what the president has to do is to start using the power of the Oval Office and the power of his personality to convince the American people and to convince the world that America is solid, America is going to move forward... restoring a sense of purpose."

I don't know about you, but this gives me hope. The fact that a prominent Republican figure is publicly acknowledging the faults of his party and endorsing across the aisle only serves as a foundation for more change to come.

xoxo Hen