MR. TOM BROKAW:  Our issues this Sunday:  He served as President George W. Bush's secretary of state and was once called the man most likely to become the nation's first African-American president.  He has been courted by both the Obama and McCain presidential campaigns and said this last month:

(Videotape)

GEN. COLIN POWELL (RET.):  I have been watching both of these individuals.  I know them both extremely well, and I have not decided who I'm going to vote for yet.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW:  Is he now ready to make an endorsement in this presidential race?  What are his thoughts on the major issues facing the country and the world?  Our exclusive guest this Sunday, former Secretary of State General Colin Powell.

Then, with 16 days to go, Decision 2008 heads into the home stretch.  What states still are in play?  We will hear the latest on some new state polls with NBC's political director, Chuck Todd.  Also, insights and analysis on the race to the White House with David Brooks of The New York Times, Jon Meacham of Newsweek magazine, Andrea Mitchell of NBC News, and Joe Scarborough of MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

But first, General Colin Powell, welcome back to MEET THE PRESS.

GEN. POWELL:  Thank, thank you, Tom.

MR. BROKAW:  We indicated in that opening, there is a lot of anticipation and speculation about your take on this presidential campaign.  We'll get to that in a moment.  But in your old business we might call this a tour of the horizon.  Whoever's elected president of the United States, that first day in the Oval Office on January 21st will face this:  an American economy that's in a near paralytic state at this time; we're at war in two different countries, Afghanistan and Iraq; we have an energy crisis; we have big decisions to make about health care and about global climate change.  The president of the United States and the Congress of the United States now have the highest disapproval ratings that we have seen in many years.  In all your years of public service, have you ever seen an incoming president face such daunting challenges?

GEN. POWELL:  No.  I have seen more difficult times in our history.  I think about the early '70s when we were going through Watergate, Spiro Agnew, Nixon period, that was not a good time.  But right now we're also facing a very daunting period.  And I think the number one issue the president's going to have to deal with is the economy.  That's what the American people are worried about.  And, frankly, it's not just an American problem, it's an international problem.  We can see how all of these economies are now linked in this globalized system.  And I think that'll be number one.  The president will also have to make decisions quickly as to how to deal with Iraq and Afghanistan.  And also I think the president has to reach out to the world and show that there is a new president, a new administration that is looking forward to working with our friends and allies.  And in my judgment, also willing to talk to people who we have not been willing to talk to before. Because this is a time for outreach.

MR. BROKAW:  Given the state of the American economy, can we continue our military commitments around the world at the level that they now exist?

GEN. POWELL:  We can.  I think we have to look as to whether they have to be at that level.  But we have the wealth, we have the wherewithal to do that. (Clears throat) Excuse me, Tom.  We have the ability to do that.  And so, first and foremost, we have to review those commitments, see what they are, see what else is needed, and make sure we give our troops what they need to get the job done as we have defined the job.  We have that ability.

MR. BROKAW:  If you were called into the Oval Office on January 21st by the new president, whoever it happens to be, and he said to you, "General Powell, I need from you your recommendation on where I begin.  What should be my priorities?" Where would you start?

GEN. POWELL:  I would start with talking to the American people and talking to the world, and conveying a new image of American leadership, a new image of America's role in the world.

The problems will always be there, and there's going to be a crisis come along in the 21st or 22nd of January that we don't even know about right now.  And so I think what the president has to do is to start using the power of the Oval Office and the power of his personality to convince the American people and to convince the world that America is solid, America is going to move forward, and we're going to fix our economic problems, we're going to meet our overseas obligations.  But restoring a sense of purpose, a sense of confidence in the American people and, in the international community, in America.

MR. BROKAW:  What's not on the screen right now that concerns you that should be more prominent in the minds of the American people and the people running for president?

GEN. POWELL:  I think the American people and the gentlemen running for president will have to, early on, focus on education more than we have seen in the campaign so far.  America has a terrible educational problem in the sense that we have too many youngsters not finishing school.  A third of our kids don't finish high school, 50 percent of minorities don't finish high school. We've got to work on this, and my, my wife and I are leading a campaign with this purpose.

Also, I think, the new president has to realize that the world looks to America for leadership, and so we have to show leadership on some issues that the world is expecting us to, whether it's energy, global warming and the environment.  And I think we have to do a lot more with respect to poverty alleviation and helping the needy people of the world.  We need to increase the amount of resources we put into our development programs to help the rest of the world.  Because when you help the poorest in the world, you start to move them up an economic and social ladder, and they're not going to be moving toward violence or terrorism of the kind that we worry about.

MR. BROKAW:  Well, let's move to the American presidential campaign now, if we can.  We saw at the beginning of this broadcast a short tease of what you had to say just a month ago.  Let's share with our viewers now a little more of Colin Powell on these two candidates and your position.

(Videotape, September 20, 2008)

GEN. POWELL:  I'm an American, first and foremost, and I'm very proud--I said, I've said, I've said to my beloved friend and colleague John McCain, a friend of 25 years, "John, I love you, but I'm not just going to vote for you on the basis of our affection or friendship." And I've said to Barack Obama, "I admire you.  I'll give you all the advice I can.  But I'm not going to vote for you just because you're black." We, we have to move beyond this.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW:  General Powell, actually you gave a campaign contribution to Senator McCain.  You have met twice at least with Barack Obama.  Are you prepared to make a public declaration of which of these two candidates that you're prepared to support?

GEN. POWELL:  Yes, but let me lead into it this way.  I know both of these individuals very well now.  I've known John for 25 years as your setup said. And I've gotten to know Mr. Obama quite well over the past two years.  Both of them are distinguished Americans who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare of our country.  Either one of them, I think, would be a good president.  I have said to Mr. McCain that I admire all he has done.  I have some concerns about the direction that the party has taken in recent years. It has moved more to the right than I would like to see it, but that's a choice the party makes.  And I've said to Mr. Obama, "You have to pass a test of do you have enough experience, and do you bring the judgment to the table that would give us confidence that you would be a good president."

And I've watched him over the past two years, frankly, and I've had this conversation with him.  I have especially watched over the last six of seven weeks as both of them have really taken a final exam with respect to this economic crisis that we are in and coming out of the conventions.  And I must say that I've gotten a good measure of both.  In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to deal with the economic problems that we were having and almost every day there was a different approach to the problem.  And that concerned me, sensing that he didn't have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we had.  And I was also concerned at the selection of Governor Palin.  She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be admired; but at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president.  And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made.

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