He's "a transformational figure".

He runs "an inclusive campaign".

He has the "ability to inspire".

He has "rhetorical abilities".

He "has both style and substance".

He "represents a new generation coming onto the world stage".

These are the reasons that General Colin Powell gave today on Meet the Press for endorsing Barack Obama for President of the United States.

Other than the word "substance", I don't see a lot of substance here, do you?  Almost everything he mentions has to do with Obama's ability to speak and impress in public. It is disappointing to me that somebody that I have respected for a long time for his ability to think and communicate clearly has become so "star struck".

I'm less interested in how much style and world appeal my president has and more interested in what types of decisions my president will make.  I would have hoped that Colin Powell would have felt the same way.  You see, being "a transformational figure" is only a good thing if the transformation that the figure is bringing about is a positive one, and whether or not that transformation is positive is totally dependent on the substance of their actions.