Scolding McCain, Powell backs Obama

The former secretary of state, a Republican who is popular with moderates, says the U.S. needs a 'transformational figure.'

WASHINGTON -- Colin Powell, a Republican and retired general who was President Bush's first secretary of state, broke with the party Sunday and endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, calling him a "transformational figure" while criticizing the tone of John McCain's campaign.

The former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said either senator is qualified to be commander in chief. But after studying both, he said, he concluded that Obama is better suited than McCain, the standard-bearer of Powell's own party, to handle the nation's economic problems and help improve its world standing.

"It isn't easy for me to disappoint Senator McCain in the way that I have this morning, and I regret that," Powell said on NBC's "Meet the Press," where he announced the endorsement and delivered a serious blow to the aspirations of his longtime friend.

But, Powell added: "I think we need a transformational figure. I think we need a president who is a generational change, and that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama, not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Senator John McCain."

The endorsement by Powell amounted to a stunning rejection of McCain, a 26-year veteran of Congress and a former Vietnam prisoner of war who has campaigned as the experienced, tested candidate who knows how to keep the country safe.

Powell's endorsement has been much anticipated because of his impressive foreign policy credentials. Powell is a Republican centrist popular among moderate voters.

At the same time, Powell is a black man, and Obama would be the nation's first black president -- a goal Powell considered pursuing for himself in 1996, before deciding not to run. Powell said he was cognizant of the racial aspect of his endorsement but said that it was not the dominant factor in his decision.

Powell expressed disappointment in the negative tone of McCain's campaign, his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate and their decision to focus in the closing weeks of the contest on Obama's ties to 1960s-era radical William Ayers, saying "it goes too far."

A co-founder of the Weather Underground, which claimed responsibility for nonfatal bombings in the United States during the Vietnam War-era, Ayers is now a college professor who lives in Obama's Chicago neighborhood. He and Obama served together on civic boards in Chicago. "This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign," Powell said. "But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him?"

Powell said McCain's choice of Palin raised questions about judgment.

"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," he said. "And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made."

McCain seemed dismissive of Powell's endorsement, saying he had support from four other former secretaries of state, all veterans of Republican administrations: Henry Kissinger, James A. Baker III, Lawrence Eagleburger and Alexander Haig.

Asked on "Fox News Sunday" whether the endorsement would undercut his campaign's assertion that Obama is not ready to lead, McCain said: "We have a respectful disagreement, and I think the American people will pay close attention to our message for the future and keeping America secure."