Senator Barack Obama on Sunday captured a forceful endorsement from former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and announced he had shattered campaign finance records in September, gaining an immense financial edge that will allow him to overwhelm Senator John McCain’s efforts in every corner of the country.

The description of Mr. Obama, the Democratic nominee for president, as a “transformational figure” by Mr. Powell, a Republican who directed the first Iraq war, could lift Mr. Obama among some independents, moderates and Republicans and neutralize concerns about his experience. And his fund-raising — $150 million last month, more than double what he raised in August — could help him sell that message by allowing him to spend at full throttle, even investing in new battlegrounds like West Virginia without having to choose among states.

Mr. Obama intends to devote most of his time over the next 15 days in states that President Bush won, aides said, going to Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio and Virginia. Mr. McCain, the Republican nominee, has ruled out trying to expand his electoral map but is waging an aggressive effort defending those states, the largest of which still could fall either way.

But the events Sunday, taken together, dealt another dispiriting setback to Republicans, particularly since Mr. Powell is a longtime friend of Mr. McCain’s and even donated to his campaign. “Powell is a glass of warm milk and a cookie for those who can’t sleep worrying about the lack of experience...