I nearly cried for joy when I read and saw Gen. Powell's endorsement of Obama for President.  It wasn't one of those wimpy, sneaking, on-the-sly statements.  It was as solid as a general's word can be.   What is the RNC gong to say about Powell?  He pals around with terrorists?  He's a has-been who really doesn't have anything to say?  No, they won't be able to pussy-foot around this one.  As the pundits like to say, "This is a game changer."



A couple of points that Powell made should have a real effect on what a lot of people are saying.

"He's not a Muslim."  OK...wingnuts???  You get it now?? He isn't a Muslim.  I really liked what Powell said next, "If he was, what would it matter?"  Powell knows what America really stands for

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.

His take on Ayers was equally enlightening. 

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.

Here's a retired US Army officer saying that the whole Ayers thing is bogus.

Finally, he says what many Republican have been saying:

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.

The job of the Vice President is to be President...and she doesn't have the chops. 

Here's the full transcript of the interview.

I'm sure the RNC knew what was coming and has their spin machine cranked up to say something.  If they are even thinking about saying something bad about Powell, they are asking for more trouble than they can even imagine.

Here's a CNN interview after the MSNBC interview: