Colin Powell Isn’t Ready to Endorse Anyone Just Yet

Colin Powell, former chairman of the military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently revealed that he isn’t quite ready to endorse anyone at this stage in the game. According to the Associated Press, Powell isn’t going to “to throw my weight behind someone” right now, and that includes the current president. Four years ago, he went against the Republican grain by ditching senator John McCain in favor of Obama.

In an interview with “Today Show” anchor Matt Lauer, Powell discussed several of Obama’s positive points, which include stabilizing the financial system and fixing the auto industry. However, because of the president’s questionable handling of the country’s economy, Powell feels he owes it to the Republican party to hear their ideas on how to resolve the situation.

“There are some things that he has done I wish he had not done. For example, leave Guantanamo open. I would have closed that rapidly. He tried. He was stopped by Congress,” Powell explained. He also added, “I think he took us out — not completely out — but he took us out of the most difficult problem we were facing at that time, which was an economy that was collapsing. And it’s improving, but not fast enough. So his number one goal for the rest of this year, as it should have been for the whole four years, is to get the economy running again.”

At this moment in time, Powell hasn’t decided if he’s going to once again endorse Obama or put his support behind Republican hopeful Mitt Romney. “I always keep my powder dry, as we say in the military,” he remarked.

As one can imagine, people have an opinion on Powell’s decision to keep his endorsement card tucked in his back pocket until he’s given both candidates a chance to prove themselves on the campaign trail. You can find an assortment of Powell-oriented reactions below.