Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.)
Selects Senator Barack Obama for
President of the United States of America

Transcript by Mindfully.org from MSNBC video 19oct2008

I know both of these individuals very well now. I've known John for 25 years, as your setup said. And I've gotten to know Mr. Obama quite well over the past 2 years. Both of them are distinguished Americans, who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare of our country. Either one of them, I think, would be a good president.

I have said to Mr. McCain that I admire all that he has done. I have some concerns about the direction that the party has taken in recent years. It has moved more to the right than I would like to see it. But that's a choice the party makes.

And I have said to Mr. Obama, "You have to pass a test of 'Do you have enough experience? — Do you bring the judgement to the table that would give us confidence that you would be a good president?'" And I have watched him over the past 2 years, frankly. And I have had this conversation with him.

I have especially watched over the last 6 or 7 weeks as both of them have really taken a final exam with respect to this economic crisis that we are in and coming out of the conventions. And I must say that ah, I've gotten a good measure of both.

In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to how to deal with the economic problems that we are having. And almost every day there was a different approach to the problem. And that concerned me, sensing that he did not have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we have.

And I was also concerned that the selection of Governor Palin. She's a very distinguished woman. And she's to be admired. But at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some 7 weeks, I don't believe that 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 judgement that Senator McCain made.

On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama. And I watched him during this 7-weeek period. And he displayed a steadiness and intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge, and an approach to looking at problems like this, in picking a Vice President who *IS* ready to be President on day-1. And also, in not just jumping in a changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well.

I also believe that on the Republican side, over the last 7 weeks, the approach of the Republican party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower.

Mr Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines — ethnic lines; racial lines; generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have value. All towns have values. Not just small towns have values.

And I have also bee disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign has, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American People are worried about.

This Bill Ayers situation that has been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed out terrorist. And why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have these calls going around the country trying to suggest that because of this *VERY, VERY* limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers that somehow Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate.

Now, I understand what politics is all about. I know how you can go after one and other. And that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American People are looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me.

And the party has moved even further to the right. And Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift.

I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court. But that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration.

I am also troubled by what, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslum."

Well, the correct answer is that he is not a Muslum, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, "What if he is?" Is there something wrong with being a Muslum in this country? The answer is, "No,' that's not America." Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslum-American kid believing that he or she could be President?

Yet I heard *SENIOR* members of my own party drop the suggestion [that] he's a Muslum and he might be associated with terrorists.

This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery. And she had her head on the headstone of son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards — purple heart; bronze star. It showed that he died in Iraq; gave his date of birth; date of death; he was 20-years-old.

And then at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross. It didn't have a star of David. It had a crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan (1987 - 2007). And he was an American. He was born in born in New Jersey. He was 14-years-old at the time of 9/11. He waited until he could serve his country and he gave his life.

Now, we have got to stop *POLARIZING* ourselves in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I am troubled about that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.

So, when I look at all this, and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good President.

But which is the President that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time?

And I come to the conclusion that: because of his ability to inspire; because of the inclusive nature of his campaign: because he's reaching out all across America; because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities — you 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.