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.
