Colin Powell endorses Obama for second term (VIDEO)

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has had a change of heart and officially endorsed President Barack Obama for a second term on Thursday.

In May, Powell refused to endorse Obama for a second term. He told the Today Show, "I think he took us out, not completely out, but he took us out of the most difficult problem we were facing at that time, which was an economy that was collapsing. It's improving, but not fast enough. So his No. 1 goal for the rest of this year, as it should have been for the whole four years, is to get the economy running again."

Powell is now citing Obama's efforts to wind down the war in Afghanistan and tackle terrorism for his decision to re-endorse him. 

Powell told CBS This Morning, "I think we ought to keep on the track that we are on. I voted for him in 2008 and I plan to stick with him in 2012."

According to Reuters, it took a mere 30 minutes for the Obama campaign to use the Powell endorsement in a campaign video.  

In the CBS interview Powell noted that Romney's foreign policy was inconsistent. "I'm not quite sure which Governor Romney we'd be getting with respect to foreign policy," Powell said, additionally calling Romney's foreign policy "a moving target."

Powell added that he does not believe Romney has the ability to tackle the deficit. "It's essentially, let's cut taxes and compensate for that with other things, but that compensation does not cover all the cuts intended or the expenses associated with defense."

Powell was the Secretary of State under the George W. Bush administration. He self-identifies as a moderate Republican. Powell told CBS that he finds Romney's ultra-conservative leanings troubling. "There's some very, very strong neo-conservative views that are presented by the governor that I have some trouble with." 

Watch the full interview here: