10/19/08: Obama endorsed by Gen. Colin Powell & Texas papers

Gen. Colin Powell endorses Obama
In what is likely to be a very signicant endorsement, former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell said that he will break with his party and vote for Sen. Barack Obama. "He has both style and substance. I think he is a transformational figure," Powell said on NBC's Meet the Press.
Watch the video here - it's a great speech.

"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 you have to take that into account -- as well as his substance -- he has both style and substance," Powell said. "He has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president."

Powell noted that McCain has been a good friend for 25 years, but expressed disappointment in the "over the top" negative tone of the GOP campaign, as well as in McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the vice presidential nominee.


OUR FULL ENDORSEMENT TALLY: Obama Widens Lead to 94-28
October 19, 2008 11:50 AM ET updated Sunday

NEW YORK (Updated Sunday) The Obama-Biden ticket maintains its strong lead in the race for daily newspaper endorsements, by 94 to 28, a better than 3-1 margin, picking up 50 or more papers in the past day, including (see separate stories), the Detroit Free Press, Buffalo News, Cleveland's Plain Dealer, Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, New York's Daily News, Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, Portland's The Oregonian, Denver Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Salt Lake Tribune, Kansas City Star, and Chicago Sun-Times.

In a real shocker, two solid Bush papers in 2004, the Houston Chronicle and Austin American-Statesman, also came out for Obama today. So did the more traditionally Democratic the News & Obsever in Raleigh and the Orlando Sentinel, both in key battleground states.