Re: Transcript - well-respected Colin Powell's Impressive Reasons for his Obama Endorsement and his plan to vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Linda Lee
his Obama Endorsement and his plan to vote for Barack Obama and Joe
Biden.
On Oct 19, 4:54 am, John Manning <jrobe...@terra.com.br> wrote:
> Well worth your time...
And he posted the following:
"Watch video here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27265490#27265490
TRANSCRIPT:
MR. BROKAW: General Powell, actually you gave a campaign contribution
to Senator McCain. You have met twice at least with Barack Obama.
Are you prepared to make a public declaration of which of these two
candidates that you're prepared to support?
GEN. POWELL: Yes, but let me lead into it this way. 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
two 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 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've said to Mr. Obama, "You have to pass a test of do you have
enough experience, and do you bring the judgment to the table that
would give us confidence that you would be a good president."
And I've watched him over the past two years, frankly, and I've had
this conversation with him. I have especially watched over the last
six of seven 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 I've gotten a good measure of both.
In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to
deal with the economic problems that we were having and almost every
day there was a different approach to the problem. And that concerned
me, sensing that he didn't have a complete grasp of the economic
problems that we had.
And I was also concerned at 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 seven
weeks,
I don't believe 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 judgment that Senator McCain made.
On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this
seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual
curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at
problems
like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be
president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing
every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a
definitive way of doing business that would serve us well.
I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven 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 values, all towns have values, not just small
towns have values.
And I've also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches
that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on
issues
that are not really central to the problems that the American people
are worried about.
This Bill Ayers situation that's 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.
Well, then, why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have
these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that,
because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama
has
had with Mr. Ayers, 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 another, 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'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's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some
seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be
president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the
suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated 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--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 the Star of David, it had crescent and a star
of
the 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 can go serve his country,
and
he gave his life.
Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself 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.
So, when I look at all of 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 is
reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his
rhetorical abilities--and we 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."
~~Transcript of full interview here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27266223/
Seanaki
DOORSTOP interview of Powell after the endorsement, worth including as it
touches on some things not covered in Meet the Press. Check CNN for a
transcript, if available.
Here: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=9LbLxja4UHY
"Linda Lee" <lindag...@juno.com> wrote in message
news:35ef134c-e63a-45d9...@d70g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...