Powell Endorses Obama

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Updated Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell endorsed the presidential bid of Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, during an interview Sunday on “Meet the Press.”

The former Army general, who served as Secretary of State during President George W. Bush’s first term said a number of factors contributed to his decision to support Mr. Obama over Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee.

“I think that Senator Obama brings a fresh set of eyes, fresh set of ideas to the table,” Mr. Powell said, speaking outside NBC’s Washington studio. “I think that Senator McCain, as gifted as he is, is essentially going to execute the Republican agenda, the orthodoxy of the Republican agenda with a new face and a maverick approach to it, and he’d be quite good at it, but i think we need more than that.”

Mr. Powell also said following the “Meet the Press” interview that the negativity of the McCain campaign was “over the top” and troubled him. He specifically cited the McCain’s campaign’s