A brilliant man who was a competent general. He also performed decently as Secretary of State, given the circumstances with which he had to deal. He served his country honorably and deserves the respect he usually receives. He is also a social liberal who, as of this morning, is oficcially endorsing Barrack Obama. What a shocker (not). He said that his choice to vote for Obama had nothing to do with the fact that he is "African American", then went on to say "If Barrack Obama is elected it should be a moment that all Americans are proud, not just African Americans but all Americans. We should be proud that we have reached this point in our nation's history". So...the fact that Obama is black doesn't matter...but, it does matter.

In 2000 Powell vigorously and enthusiastically endorsed the Bush-Cheney ticket, saying that they would be a "great team" for America. Now he basically says he was mistaken. My crystal ball says that, regardless of what the future might hold with an Obama Presidency, you will never hear such a confession from Powell.