Mixed feelings on Powell's endorsement

TAMPA -- Though former Secretary of State Colin Powell gave Barack Obama a glowing recommendation on Sunday's Meet the Press, reactions were mixed at the George M. Steinbrenner Field rally today.

Josephine King, 75, of Tampa, said she thought the endorsement might end up hurting the Democratic nominee.

"I don't think people have forgotten about (Powell's) lies," King said.

King said one of the main reasons she's voting for Obama is because he'll end the war in Iraq -- a war Powell helped start, she said. "I'm here because Obama represents the future."

But not everyone felt that way. Rob Johnson, 47, of St. Petersburg, said it was "awesome, awesome, awesome."

"The planets are all aligning," Johnson said of Powell's remarks.

Kim Wilmath, Times staff writer

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