Colin Powell has made an endorsement for Barack Obama for president.

The former secretary of state told "CBS This Morning" on Thursday that he plans on voting for President Obama and he talked with Norah O'Donnell and Charlie Rose about Obama as a "transformational figure."

"I voted for him in 2008 and I plan to stick with him in 2012 and I'll be voting for he and for Vice President Joe Biden next month," said Powell, who went against the Republican Party and voted for Obama the first time.

Powell defended his choice saying, "When he took over, the country was in very very difficult straits. We were in the one of the worst recessions we had seen in recent times, close to a depression."

"I saw over the next several years, stabilization come back in the financial community, housing is now starting to pick up after four years, it's starting to pick up. Consumer confidence is rising."

Powell said the president has done a good job while in office, however, he also acknowledged a growing problem Obama hasn't fixed.

"The unemployment rate is too high, people are still hurting in housing but I see that we're starting to rise up," he said. 

The former secretary of state added:

"The major problem faced either by Gov. Romney or President Obama, whoever wins the election, is going to be what to do about the fiscal cliff we're about to fly over. This is something that was put in place by Congress and while we're talking about the two candidates for president let's not forget that Congress bears a lot of responsibility for many of the problems that we have now." 

Even though he has voted for a democrat, Powell said he's of a "dying breed" of moderate Republicans. 

Election Day 2012 is Nov. 6.