Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell smiles as he speaks before presenting Britain's Prince Harry the Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership Award during the Atlantic Council 2012 Annual Awards Dinner at a hotel in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2012. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a longtime Republican, is sticking with President Barack Obama in this year's election.
He tells "CBS This Morning" he respects Mitt Romney but thinks he's been vague on many issues.
Speaking of Obama, Powell said the president got the United States out of Iraq and has laid out a plan for leaving Afghanistan "and didn't get us into any new wars."
He praises Obama's economic performance, saying that while difficult choices are ahead on taxes, spending and budgetary policies, "steadily, I think we've begun to come out of the dive and we're gaining attitude." Powell, a retired general, also formerly was a White House chief of staff and chairman of the military's Joint Chief of Staffs.
Powell says that he's still a Republican.
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