In a week when Joe the Plumber is the catchphrase of the Republican campaign, the Democrats are buoyed by a prominent Republican crossing party lines, says Anayat Durrani One of the most highly decorated military officers of modern times -- and first secretary of state in George W Bush's administration -- Colin Powell endorsed Obama on the prestigious NBC News "Meet the Press" programme on Sunday. Powell said Obama would be an "exceptional" leader citing the "inclusive nature of his campaign". "I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama," Powell said. Powell was the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, serving under the first president Bush during the 1991 Gulf War, and the first black secretary of state, serving under the second president Bush during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Powell has been watching both Obama and McCain closely for several months and thought "either one of them would be a good president". But he said McCain's decisions in the last few weeks, particularly his choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, had caused him to have doubts about his judgement. Powell said that while Palin was "a very distinguished woman, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president." Powell described McCain, a friend of 25 years, as unsure in his handling of the economic crisis. He said Obama had demonstrated "a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge" and "an intellectual vigour" that showed he was ready to assume the role of president on day one. Powell said he was concerned over the negative turn of McCain's campaign, such as the focus on former 1960s' radical Bill Ayers and attempts to link him to Obama. He called it "inappropriate" and said it "goes too far". Powell also took a moment to address a troubling aspect of the Republican campaign's strategy of inciting anti-Muslim sentiment. He mentioned a photo he saw in a magazine of an American Muslim mother resting her head on her son's gravestone at Arlington Cemetery. Her son, Karim Rashad Sultan Kahn was killed in Iraq. The gravestone had a crescent and star, a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. "Is there something wrong with being Muslim in America? No, that's not America," he said. "He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could go serve his country, and he gave his life," Powell said. "Now, we have got to stop polarising ourselves in this way." Powell cited the appearance of Congressman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota on MSNBC's "Hardball" as demonstrating some of the negativity of the campaign. On the show, referring to Obama, Bachmann said, "I'm very concerned that he may have anti-American views." She then went on to call for a "penetrating expose" by the media to investigate patriotism among her colleagues on Capitol Hill. Powell said he was concerned over the direction of the Republican Party and that it has "moved more to the right than I would like to see it." He said, while the Republican side and McCain have become narrower, Obama is "crossing lines -- ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines." Barry Burden of the University of Wisconsin-Madison said that while Bachmann's comments did not harm McCain's campaign directly, he said her comments confuse the general message coming from Republicans. Burden said the party does not have a clear leader or image at this point in the election. "Bachmann's comments do reinforce the point made by Sarah Palin this week that Republicans view some politicians and some parts of the country as being more 'American' than others, a strange point of view." Powell defended his support for the war in Iraq when he made the case to the UN that Saddam Hussein was harbouring weapons of mass destruction, saying at the time that he acted in good faith based on the intelligence he was given, though his cries of innocence leave many unconvinced. His staff had warned him the intelligence was dubious, and he reportedly cursed the very report he gave at the UN at the time. Many critics, such as David Swanson, Washington director of Democrats.com, insist that he knew the information was false. Millions of Americans knew it, joining in one of the largest anti- war demonstrations in US history to try to prevent the invasion. When asked why he didn't resign rather than lead America into a criminal war, he now argues that this would not have prevented the invasion, that somehow by staying on, he was acting honourably. Instead, Powell resigned rather than serve under Bush during his second term. Whatever the story on his UN speech, clearly he did not agree with the hawkish policies of his boss, and he now emphasises his support for Obama's call for diplomatic outreach to countries like Iran and North Korea. "We have managed to convey to the world that we are more unilateral than we really are. The new president is going to have to fix the reputation that we've left with the rest of the world and show that there is a new president, a new administration that is looking forward to working with our friends and allies. And in my judgment, also willing to talk to people who we have not been willing to talk to before. Because this is a time for outreach." Appearing on Fox News Sunday, McCain said he respects and admires Powell, and that his endorsement "doesn't come as a surprise. I'm also very pleased to have the endorsement of four former secretaries of state -- secretaries Kissinger, Baker, Eagleburger, and Haig -- and I'm proud to have the endorsement of well over 200 retired Army generals and admirals," McCain said. Influential right-wing radio celebrity Rush Limbaugh claimed Powell made his decision based on his race. "This was all about Powell and race, nothing about the nation and its welfare," Limbaugh said. Powell denies this and said if that had been true, he would have made the announcement months earlier. Some analysts said the endorsement may influence voters on the fence who were previously unsure about Obama's abilities as president. Powell's criticism of McCain's choice of Palin as vice president could also have some impact on Republicans who quietly share the same concerns. "Powell's endorsement is just more bad news for the McCain campaign," said Burden. "Powell is widely regarded as a nonpartisan foreign policy expert, just the sort of person McCain would like on his side. It also diffuses his argument that Obama can't be trusted because of the company he keeps. Powell said Sunday that he has no plans to campaign for Obama. Some have suggested the timing of Powell's endorsement, when Obama is ahead in the polls, was a strategic move for a possible position in an Obama administration. "I served 40 years in government, and I'm not looking forward to a position or an assignment," said Powell. "Of course, I have always said if a president asks you to do something, you have to consider it." Let's hope Obama doesn't ask him to justify another dubious war.
