US President George W Bush's first Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has endorsed Democratic election candidate Barack Obama for the White House. Backing Mr Obama over John McCain, the Republican Party's choice to succeed Mr Bush in November, he said the Democrat had the "ability to inspire". "All Americans... not just African-Americans" would be proud of an Obama win, he argued. Mr McCain said he was not surprised at his "long-time friend's" decision. He pointed out that other former secretaries of state had backed his own candidacy, naming them as Henry Kissinger, James Baker, Lawrence Eagleburger and Alexander Haig - all Republicans. Addressing a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Mr Obama said he was "deeply humbled" by Mr Powell's support. "He knows, as we do, that this is a moment where we need to come together as one nation - young and old, rich and poor, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Republican and Democrat," he added. His campaign said earlier that the two men had spoken for 10 minutes by telephone. The Obama campaign also announced it had raised a record monthly total of more than $150m (£86m) in September, reaching a total of $605m and dwarfing the total of Mr McCain, who chose to stay within the public campaign financing system. Important moment The Powell endorsement is an important moment in the campaign, BBC North America editor Justin Webb says. Colin Powell does not bring a state and he probably does not bring many additional supporters, our correspondent says. But what he does do is solidify Barack Obama's appeal with the middle-of-the-road voters who are worried about whether or not he has sufficient experience for the job. To hear these words from Colin Powell in a television interview this morning, will have been deeply reassuring to many American voters, our correspondent adds. One interesting sideline to the Powell endorsement is that he gave as one reason for his choice Sarah Palin's presence on the Republican ticket, arguing she was not ready for the White House. That is a view that is likely to add to the rumblings of discontent on the Republican side about John McCain's choice of running mate, our correspondent adds.