Powell's backing, new funds lift Obama

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama yesterday picked up the prized endorsement of retired General Colin Powell, gaining a significant boost to his credentials as a potential commander-in-chief on the same day that his campaign announced it had raised more than $150 million last month.

The astounding fund-raising results vividly displayed the Democratic nominee's huge money edge in the presidential campaign's final two weeks.

Obama, who smashed the previous monthly record of the $66 million he raised in August, has now brought in a total of more than $600 million - nearly three times the haul of Republican rival John McCain.

Breaking his long silence, Powell made his endorsement on NBC's "Meet the Press," calling Obama "a transformational figure" who "brings a fresh set of eyes, a fresh set of ideas" at a time the nation urgently needs them. "He has met the standard of being president," he said.

Because Powell - a longtime Republican and President Bush's former secretary of state - is a widely respected figure, analysts said his warm praise for Obama could sway undecided independents and moderate Republicans, two constituencies McCain needs.

McCain told Fox News he was disappointed but not surprised by the decision of Powell, a longtime friend. McCain pointed to the endorsements he's received from several retired generals and four former secretaries of state, including Henry Kissinger and James Baker.

"I respect and continue to respect Secretary Powell," said McCain, who had actively sought Powell's backing. "We have a respectful disagreement, and I think the American people will pay close attention to our message for the future and keeping America secure."

Powell said it was not easy to disappoint McCain and praised him as a "gifted" senator. But he had withering criticism for his party and the direction of McCain's campaign, especially the Republican's actions during the recent economic crisis that suggested "that he didn't have a complete grasp of the economic problems."

"I found that he was a little unsure as to deal with the economic problems that we were having, and almost every day, there was a different approach to the problem. And that concerned me," Powell said.

Powell, who also served as the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush, faulted McCain's attacks on Obama and questioned McCain's judgment in picking Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate.

"Now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president," Powell said.

At a rally in Fayetteville, N.C., yesterday, Obama said he was "deeply humbled" by the endorsement of Powell, whom he called "a great soldier, a great statesman, a great American." During the last few years, he added, "I have been honored to have the benefit of his wisdom and counsel from time to time," Obama said.

Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist, said in an e-mail yesterday, "Clearly General Powell's endorsement would give Senator Barack Obama's candidacy enormous credibility in reassuring those voters who continue to express doubts about his ability to overcome the national security challenges facing the new president."

Tucker Bounds, a McCain spokesman, criticized Obama for wrapping himself in Powell's support.

"Only an unproven and inexperienced politician like Barack Obama would have to rely so heavily on an another man's resume in making the case for his own candidacy - and it shows that he's just not ready," Bounds said.

Like McCain, who was in the Navy, Powell was a career military man who served in Vietnam and rose through the officers' ranks before entering public service. A four-star Army general, Powell was hailed as a hero for his winning strategy in the first Persian Gulf War, then joined President Bush's administration in its first term, serving as the nation's top diplomat.

In the weeks before the Iraq invasion, Powell helped Bush explain why the war was necessary with a highly publicized speech before the United Nations, but he resigned during Bush's second term. He reportedly was forced out, the victim of bureaucratic infighting among Bush's top staff.

Obama has made his opposition to the war a centerpiece of his campaign.

Powell, 71, was high on many Republicans' wish list for vice president, and was once believed to be the front-runner to become the nation's first black president himself.

In his appearance on "Meet the Press" yesterday, Powell acknowledged the racial aspect of his endorsement, but said that it was not the primary factor in his decision. In explaining his decision, he focused more on what he saw as the troubling turn of the Republican Party and McCain's campaign, including his recent focus on Obama's loose ties to 1970s radical William Ayers.

"We have two wars, we have an economic problem, we have education problems, we have infrastructure problems," Powell, who said he does not plan to campaign for Obama, told reporters afterward.

"Those are the problems people want to hear about, not Mr. Ayers, not who is a Muslim and who is not a Muslim," he said, referring to persistent false rumors about the Illinois senator's faith. "If you're an American, you're an American. We have got to stop this kind of nonsense and pull ourselves together and realize the strength of this country is our diversity and our unity."

Powell's dramatic announcement dealt another blow to McCain, who is falling behind in most polls nationally and battleground states and faces huge hurdles catching up because of Obama's advantage in how much he can spend on ads and get-out-the-vote efforts.

David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager, told supporters yesterday that the campaign added 632,000 new donors during September for a total of 3.1 million donors to date. The average donation last month was less than $100, he said, and the average contribution for the campaign is $86. Obama is the first major-party candidate to opt out of public financing since the post-Watergate campaign finance reforms.

McCain, who raised about $240 million through August before accepting the $84.1 million in public money for the general election, renewed his criticism yesterday of Obama for reneging on a pledge to take public money.

The huge amount of money his opponent has raised showed the "dam has broken" on White House races, McCain said.

"I'm saying it's laying a predicate for the future that can be very dangerous," McCain said in the Fox News interview. "History shows us where unlimited amounts of money are in political campaigns, it leads to scandal."

Scott Helman of the Globe staff contributed to this report.