Guess who just endorsed Obama?

For all of you out there in Obama-rama land. Or not. But, seriously, most of the times endorsements don't mean much, right? Not so with this one. This gives Obama military/foreign policy cred, not to mention the fact that it's from a prominent Republican. Who is it, you ask? None other than Former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell. See below for a video of his endorsement on Meet the Press today. He gives a really good distillation of why Obama is the man for the moment.



What he says about Obama being a "socialist" and the McCain campaign taking that stance:

"We can't judge our people and hold our elections on that kind of basis. Yes, that kind of negativity troubled me. And the constant shifting of the argument, I was troubled a couple of weeks ago when in the middle of the crisis the campaign said 'we're going to go negative,' and they announced it. 'We're going to go negative and attack his character through Bill Ayers.' Now I guess the message this week is we're going to call him a socialist. Mr. Obama is now a socialist, because he dares to suggest that maybe we ought to look at the tax structure that we have. Taxes are always a redistribution of money. Most of the taxes that are redistributed go back to those who pay them, in roads and airports and hospitals and schools. And taxes are necessary for the common good. And there's nothing wrong with examining what our tax structure is or who should be paying more or who should be paying less, and for us to say that makes you a socialist is an unfortunate characterization that I don't think is accurate."

and here's what he has to say about Obama being a "big scary Muslim":

"I'm also troubled by, 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 Muslim'. Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim. 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 Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year old Muslim American kid believing that he or she could be President? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop this suggestion, 'He's a Muslim 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 are 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 her 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 star of Islamic Faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. 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. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourselves in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But, I'm troubled about the fact that within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.

That makes me really really heart Colin Powell. Someone's been needing to say that for a long time. This kid gave his life for our country. I think we should all be mindful of that.

Edited original post to add picture of Kareem's mother by his graveside.