As the most anticipated U.S. presidential election in history nears the final stretch, Hip-Hop megastar Eminem and former secretary of state Colin Powell are officially proclaiming their support for Democratic nominee Barack Obama.
While historically Eminem his voiced criticism of the Bush administration in songs, the Obama endorsement marks the first time the Detroit emcee has endorsed a political figure.
“I’ll vote for Barack. I can’t get too political because I don’t know enough,” Eminem admitted in a BBC interview with DJ Zane Lowe. “I mean, I know we are going into a recession. Pardon the cliché but we need something to change. I think Barack would be a breath of fresh air, to get there and actually get what’s left of the Bush administration out of the door.”
A man who does know the issues is former secretary of state and U.S. general Colin Powell, who resigned from the Bush administration in 2004 due to the mishandling of the Iraq War.
This past Sunday (October 19), Powell also endorsed Obama while referencing his displeasure with John McCain’s nomination of Sarah Palin as vice president.
“[Obama] has both style and substance. I think he is a transformational figure,” Powell revealed on NBC’s Meet the Press. “He has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president…Now that we have had a chance to watch her [Palin] for some seven weeks, I don’t believe she’s ready to be president. And so that has raised some questions in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made.”
Powell was equally displeased with what he called the “polarizing” tactics initiated by McCain to link Obama to former 1970’s radical turned respected college professor William Ayers.
“I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow,” Powell explained. “It’s not what the American people are looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign, and they trouble me. I feel strongly about this particular point. We have got to stop polarizing ourselves in this way.”
Eminem is finalizing his highly anticipated sixth studio album Relapse.
The tentative December release will feature production from Dr. Dre and DJ Premier, and appearances from 50 Cent, T.I., DMX, Obie Trice and Cashis.
Colin Powell also made headlines last week for a recent appearance at London’s Africa Rising Festival, where the veteran politician spoke on the importance of African culture and performed an impromptu rap song with Nigerian emcee Olu Maintain.