Ethics

The Powell Endorsement

By Ed Brayton

As I'm sure everyone knows by now, Colin Powell has endorsed Barack Obama for president. Powell has taken a lot of flak from both the left (for being a loyal foot soldier for Bush in making the case for the war in Iraq) and the right (for daring to criticize the execution of that same war, and especially for thinking that something other than the military should be a part of executive decision making), but this endorsement will almost certainly be a big deal to undecided voters.

Despite all the criticism - perhaps because of it - Powell still commands a great deal of respect among political independents for his willingness to break rank with his own party and for his calm and thoughtful demeanor. The most interesting thing about his endorsement was how complete his criticism of both the GOP and McCain was. Though phrased in the most polite terms, it was clear that he believes his own party has left him. Here's the video:

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on October 20, 2008 (boomark / email).