General Colin Powell (Born 1937 in New York, NY) is an American Statesman and retired four-star General. A former National Security Advisor, he was Commander-in Chief of the US Army Forces Command, was the first African-American to be appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and was the first African-American to serve as Secretary of State. His civilian awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award, and he was made an honorary Knight by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. An outspoken Republican, he caused great publicity in the 2008 election when he publicly endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for President over his fellow Republican, War-Hero, John McCain when he stated that he was not happy with the message and tone of the McCain/Palin campaign, he did not feel Sarah Palin was prepared or qualified to be Vice-President, and that he thought the country had the best chance of moving forward with Barack Obama as President. Many political experts tout his endorsement as swaying enough undecided and independent voters towards Barack Obama that Obama ended up winning the election easily.
