Don't get me wrong — I have high respect for Colin Powell. I have much more respect for John McCain, however, and my support for McCain/Palin further solidified with Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama. The fact is, endorsements never change how people vote for the most part. So, it is not the endorsement I write about here, but rather the misinformation and intent presented with the endorsement.

My first point:

The intent of Powell's endorsement is clear to me. Why wait until now to come out with it? Powell may feel that an Obama victory is likely, and he wants to be on the winning side. He may have felt some pressure by the black community to show support. But I believe he wants to try to right his own wrongs in convincing the world that the invasion of Iraq was necessary when addressing the U.N Security Council as Secretary of State. Yes, the man who was key to the war starting, wants to appear partnered with the man who runs on being against the war from day one.

References (in case you forgot this bit of history or were too young to be aware at the time):

White House: February 5, 2003
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Addresses the U.N. Security Council
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030205-1.html

A passage from Bob Woodward’s most recent book, “The War Within,” that quoted former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, a Republican, as saying that Mr. Powell was “the one guy who could have perhaps prevented” the war from happening.

Even the NYT reported on this background yesterday:
Powell’s Endorsement Puts Spotlight on His Legacy
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/us/politics/20powell.html?ref=world

And don't forget, this was based on Powell's belief in the false reports by the CIA on weapons of mass destruction:

CNN Report: Report: Iraq intelligence 'dead wrong'
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/03/31/intel.report/index.html

My second point:

Aside from trying to change his own legacy, point 2 relates to the statement that Powell made about Muslims, blaming the GOP and McCain on making Muslims out to be bad people and Islam a bad religion. Quote from Powell on Muslims taken from his endorsement interview:

"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."

Well, folks, the fact is Obama was not always a Christian. His registration documents in Indonesia to attend Catholic school stated he was of the Islam religion:

The registration document was located as an AP photo here:
http://www.daylife.com/photo/01u33pL9Ns06D

"This registration document, made available on Jan. 24, 2007, by the Fransiskus Assisi school in Jakarta, Indonesia, shows the registration of Barack Obama under the name Barry Soetoro into the Catholic school made by his step-father, Lolo Soetoro. The document lists Barry Soetoro as a Indonesian citizen, born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, and shows his Muslim step-father listed the boy's religion as Islam.(AP Photo/ Tatan Syuflana)"

What is most wrong with Powell's inaccurate statement is that Barack Obama and his supporters are the ones who have treated Muslims unfavorably in this campaign. Let me just site one instance reported about how Muslims were told not to be in photos that included Barack Obama:

Politico: Muslims barred from picture at Obama event
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11168.html

Colin Powell is simply out of touch politically, and does not have all of the facts about this campaign.

There is nothing wrong with being Muslim. There is everything wrong with being a liar, Barry Soetoro of Indonesia or whoever you are.

My third point:

Colin Powell is not a Republican endorsing Barack Obama; at one point when he was considering running for President against George Bush, his intent was to run as an Independent. For several years now he has dissed the Republican Party.

On to my fourth and most important point:

Colin Powell and John McCain are both American heroes. They both served our country in the military and have both been servants in government positions, McCain far longer than Powell. But which of the two men do you think deserves the most recognition for public service? It is simple: When called upon to serve our country in the capacity of President of the United States, during a time when such a political post is likely to be an enormous challenge resulting in constant threats to one's family and one's life, terrorist attacks, financial woes beyond the imaginable, a savage political arena, biased tabloidal media, and much more — who stood up to the plate? Not Colin Powell. Once again, John McCain put country first.

Although he never served in the military, I give credit to Barack Obama for facing this challenge now of running for President in this undesirable climate. In fact, I make it a point to respect everyone who takes it upon themselves to serve our country in either a military or political position. But it also matters significantly as to whether one delivers positive results while serving, and as Secretary of State, history does not write a story of success for Colin Powell. That day at the United Nations was not his shining hour.

And in my opinion, with all due respect Mr. Powell, your endorsement rhetoric on Meet The Press was another low point, filled with accusations about John McCain that I hope you retract publicly. And you need to do this NOW — before you once again go down in history as the voice who encouraged the citizens of this country to cast a vote they will regret for years to come.