Colin Powell says it firm, he supports Obama

Washington D.C: George W Bush's Former Secretary of State Colin Powell who at one time was seen as a possible Republican candidate for the President is firmly in the Obama camp. He bucked his own party in announcing his presidential endorsement on Sunday.

“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,” says Powell

Besides his praise for Obama himself, the republican says he's disappointed with the tone of his own party's presidential campaign.

“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,” states Powell.

in response, republican nominee john McCain says he respects Colin Powell but also pointed out the support his campaign has been getting.

“I'm also very pleased to have the endorsement of four former Secretaries of State, Secretaries Kissinger, Baker, Eagleburger, and Haig,” says McCain.

On the subject of race, Powell said he recognized that both he and Obama are African-American, and that if elected, Obama would be the nation's first black president, but said that was not the main factor in his decision.

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