I don’t have the text to link to at the moment, but Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama was a powerful and reasoned statement that encompassed so many of the issues and distractions that have been the subjects of this campaign. He stated his like for both men, but the things that caught my ear were this:
- The Republican party has shifted to far to the right.
- He doesn’t get the Republican campaign’s focus on Ayers.
- Palin isn’t ready to be president and that impacted his decision.
- Although he didn’t use the word erratic, he said that McCain’s handling of the economy issues these last few weeks was, well, erratic.
- He alluded that he didn’t want to see two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court.
- We need a transformational candidate. Obama has inspired those across the lines of race and generation.
- Obama has shown steadiness and leadership these last few weeks.
You will be seeing and hearing these statements soon and for the next few days. Endorsements help only a small bit in my opinion, but this one will dominate the news for at least 36 hours.
UPDATE: Here’s a link to video of the statement.
