Alexandria (US), Oct 21: After former US secretary of state endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in the Nov 4 elections, the White House said last evening that US President George W. Bush has “greatly respects” for Colin Powell.

White House spokesperson Dana Perino said that every American had the right to decide whom to support in an election.

“In America, the great thing is everybody is able to think about who they’re going to endorse in an election, weigh all the issues and come to their own conclusion, and then have the freedom to be able to express them. And that''s the great thing about our country,” Pakistani daily The News quoted Dana as saying.

Powell, who served as US secretary of State during Bush''s first term and was once seen as the best candidate to be the first black US President, became the highest-profile Republican to endorse Obama''s White House hopes.

Asked about Powell’s relations with Bush, Perino replied: “They have a good relationship. The president greatly respects General Powell, as we all do.”

Powell said Bush''s chosen successor John McCain was ready to be President, but sharply assailed his campaign''s attacks on Obama and said the US needed to break from eight years of Bush’s policies.

Powell also defended his role in the buildup to the Iraq invasion, saying that he “acted in good faith” on the basis of intelligence evidence that, he felt, showed former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

He denied he was keen on returning to government in an Obama administration to help repair his political reputation, which he damaged with his February 2003 presentation to the UN Security Council to make the case for war with Iraq. (ANI)