GENERAL COLIN POWELL ENDORSES OBAMA. By Chinyere Obinna. O

Democratic Presidential front runner, Senator Barack Obama has clinched the endorsement of General Colin Powell, a major coup for the young senator, who has steadily weathered the onslaught that has caught him in a maelstrom of a negative campaign generated by the Republican camp. The endorsement of General Colin Powell is especially telling, considering the fact that General Powell, a Four-Star General who served as a secretary of State under the Bush Administration is a Republican and a personal friend of Senator McCain. General Collin Powell, a Statesman with a distinguished military record who was America's Secretary of State from 2001-2005 under President George Bush has usually steered clear of political involvement, but had at the beginning of the presidential campaign, donated money to the McCain campaign. While he believes that Senator McCain is a gifted politician who can provide a new set of eyes on the Republican agenda, he believes that America needs more than that and for that reason he believes that Obama is more qualified to take over the helms of the presidency.
“Obama has captured the feelings of the young people of America and is reaching out in a more diversified and inclusive way across our society,” General Powell has said on NBC's "Meet the Press." where he announced Sunday his support for Senator Obama’s bid for the presidency.

General Collin Powell said that his decision was influenced by Obama’s calm and rational approach to issues. He was compelled to root for Obama after watching the two candidates campaign, but was especially drawn to Obama’s handling of the recent economic crisis, an event that gave him the opportunity to evaluate the judgment of the two candidates, their approach and the steadiness of their actions. According to
General Powell, Senator Obama stood out as having “a calm, patient, intellectual, steady approach to the problem-solving that this country needs."

General Powell also went on the record to condemn the negative turn of the McCain campaign and characterized its very nature as inappropriate and as going too far. He admitted that he found it troubling, especially in the face of the huge problems facing America, that the McCain campaign was more focused on slinging mud rather than focusing on the real issues. He also stated that it was this kind of divisiveness that sends the wrong signal about America to the wrong people.


This latest endorsement from a person of General Powell's stature is like a shot in the arm for the Obama campaign, which has continued to surge in the polls since the financial meltdown that faced the country. Obama's handling of the situation has shone a favorable light on him while McCain's reaction was regarded by some as political posturings. The Obama campaign has also continued to raise an unprecedented amount of money for his campaign coffers. In the month of September alone, he has raised more than 150 million dollars.