General Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for President on Meet the Press this past Sunday.  Gen. Powell gave a well-reasoned statement to Tom Brokaw yesterday that spelled out the qualities he was looking for in the next President. The retired Secretary of State said that he had reflected on his choice for quite a long period of time and did not make this endorsement lightly.

But which is the president that we need now?  Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time?  And 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 we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president.  I think he is a transformational figure.  He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.

Senator Kerry, in his endorsement of Barack Obama back in January also cited the possibility of transformational change. This is a chance to renew America and change our image around the world. The world needs to see an America that embraces it's own best ideals and and America that wants to live up to those ideals at home and abroad.  Gen. Powell also took note of that in his comments yesterday.

As impressive as this endorsement was, I was more struck by the eloquence of the words General Powell used in his call for and end to slurs and negativity in this campaign. 

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.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine.  It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.  And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave.  And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone.  And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death.  He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith.  And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey.  He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life.  Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way.

Exactly so. Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann recently called for hearings to examine whether or not members of Congress are "anti-American" or not. Gov. Sarah Palin had accused the Democratic nominee of  "pallin' around with terrorists." One woman at a McCain rally even called Senator Obama "an Arab" as if that alone was a disqualification for holding public office.

Gen. Powell's remarks speak to the higher ideals of America. It should make no difference what your background, religion or ethnicity is in this country.  We don't have loyalty tests or DNA screens to test and see if a candidate for public office is "American"  enough to run.  This was a stirring and eloquent reminder that an America at her best is an America that embraces the diversity of her people as a strength.  I couldn't agree more.

We need an end to the politics of division and hate.