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Shallow Nation

October 20th, 2008 at 10:37 am

Video & Photos: Barack Obama Today Show Interview 10-20-08

Barack Obama campain rally in North Carolina

The Today Show’s Matt Lauer interviewed Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama shortly after former Secretary of State General Colin Powell endorsed Obama on Meet the Press. Watch the full interview and see photos and video of Obama on the campaign trail in North Carolina.

In the interview, broadcast on October 20, 2008, Obama discussed a range of topics, including the Powell endorsement, Republican VP candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Iraq war, and the myriad of challenges, domestic and international, that the next President will face.

Barack Obama campain rally in North Carolina

Regarding the Powell endorsement Obama said that he would love to have him on the campaign trail , while acknowledging that Powell declines to campaign and expressing admiration for that decision. “I won’t lie to you, I would love to have him at any stop. Obviously, if he wants to show up he’s got an open invitation.” In response to what role Powell might have in an Obama administration, he said, “He will have a role as one of my advisers…. Whether he wants to take a formal role, whether that’s a good fit for him, is something we’d have to discuss.”

The description of Mr. Obama, the Democratic nominee for president, as a “transformational figure” by Mr. Powell, a Republican who directed the first Iraq war, could lift Mr. Obama among some independents, moderates and Republicans and neutralize concerns about his experience. And his fund-raising — $150 million last month, more than double what he raised in August — could help him sell that message by allowing him to spend at full throttle, even investing in new battlegrounds like West Virginia without having to choose among states.

Source: Donation Record as Colin Powell Endorses Obama

Barack Obama campain rally in North Carolina

Notably, Obama declined to state whether or not he believes Republican VP candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is qualified to be President even when Matt Lauer quoted the Chicago Tribune Obama endorsement which was highly critical of Republican Presidential candidate Senator John McCain for choosing her. Obama would only say, “I’m going let the American people decide that.”

Photos – Barack Obama campaigning in Fayetteville, NC (Photo credit: Reuters, New York Times)

Today show Barack Obama interview video 10-20-08

Here is an excerpt of Barack Obama’s speech in Fayetteville, NC responding to the Colin Powell endorsemen10-19-08