In campaign news, former Secretary of State Colin Powell has endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The retired four-star general, who served in the last two Bush administrations, made the announcement on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Colin Powell: “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.”

Colin Powell also criticized the campaign tactics of John McCain and the Republican Party.

Colin Powell: “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.”