Thanks for noting the rumor around GOP convention time that Powell was on the short list for VP. Saw it more as a "please don't endorse yet" than a serious signal.

Hope this will help energize folks to take advantage of early voting -- avoid long lines on November 4! -- and help nullify any scorched earth October surprise moves by GOP.

Powell is arguably the nation's most popular and most respected Republican.

Yep. The Torch of Maverickosity has been passed.

David Brooks must have watched a different Powell endorsement. He said, "Powell was not criticizing John McCain."

Forget the endorsement. The single most important thing Powell did in this interview was point out that there's nothing wrong with being a Muslim and then drive it home with a vivid and moving anecdote.

I heard that on the outer planets that Palin did not violate any ethics laws and the Powell did not criticize McCain. I wonder if there's a depression there. Must be nice living in an alternate reality (or bubble?)/

Let's see, how will McCain counter this endorsement? Ohhhh...I know. He'll say that Powell has a record of poor judgment and as evidence he'll point to the fact that Powell was wrong on WMD in Iraq. .......Oh wait, never mind.

Wasn't so long ago that Mr. Powell was considered by many to be a war criminal.

McCain says on fixed News this am

the Robocalls will not stop, that they are

'Legitimate and Truthful' and 'totally accurate'

and there is absolutely no comparison between the Robocalls that were aimed at him and no comparison to being compared to Wallace.

So, will Powell have a seat in the Obama Administration? That'd be pretty darn cool.

Andrea Mitchell just said on MTP that Obama is running an "astonishingly negative" ad, in which he shows a clip of McCain saying, "I voted with Bush 90% of the time". According to Mitchell, it was said "in a different context." I guess she means he was running against Republicans at the time.

Just went to Faux news... nothing on Powell nada... zip. 2 hours after the fact " We report (somtimes) you decide." Its Joe the plumber all news all the time, So funny I can barely contain myself. Hey trolls care to discuss why yer favorite news source ain't got a comment

will Powell have a seat in the Obama Administration?

I think Brokaw suggested maybe an ambassador to Africa. If I heard that right, it's more than a little odd and quite offensive.

...McCain described Powell as "a man who I admire as much as any man in the world, person in the world."

Didn't McCain also call Rep. John Lewis one of the wisest men he knew? But instead of taking the hint, he lashed back at Lewis's criticism of his campaign.

Over the summer, unprompted, McCain described Powell as "a man who I admire as much as any man in the world, person in the world."

Ever seen one of those awkward exchanges?:

"I love you."
"Thanks."
"Uh...."

I wonder what will have the larger impact - Powell's endorsement of Obama, or his rebuke of the repub party? This further trashing of the republican brand could reach far down the ballot, in states both red and blue.

His legacy is blemished by his role in the Bush administration, and his United Nations presentation on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

The blemish on his legacy goes back a lot farther than that.

DanP:
Did Brokaw really say that? Brokaw has gone completely off the rails since coming back to fill in for Russert. I saw the part where when talking to David "Bobo" Brooks he called the Democrats in the House "really liberal". What planet is Brokaw living on?

Tempo and temperament

Powell's 7-minute answer to Brokaw's question is stunningly brilliant. He does not drop a word or elide a beat. He says everything that needs to be said with steady logic and emotion.

Everyone's ears will filter it differently. But for me, that was seven of the most brilliant expository minutes I've ever watched...

I've had it with CNN and the likes of Andrea Mitchell and that one side flip hairdo of hers that tosses around as she tilts her head-- far too whimsical and fresh for all

their tired words and made up stories now which seems to search painfully for something to fill the air-time with, something to go after Obama for..

'Astonishingly Negative?' Puhleese...

This is going to be the look of the final two weeks, I'm afraid.

There's your October surprise!

Wasn't so long ago that Mr. Powell was considered by many to be a war criminal.

Still is, but...LBJ...tent...pissing out...pissing in, etc.

I think giving him a good, visible, spot on the west front of the Capitol for the inauguration, and then whisking him off to the Hague is an acceptable compromise.

Can't wait to see how McCain slams Powell.

Probably something to do with white powder and WMD, I'm thinking.

"Powell lied to me and to the nation about Iraq's capacity for WMD, leading us into a war that has killed or wounded x number of our young men and women in uniform."

You heard it here first.

I'm guilty of posting before reading all comments.

Obviously, you heard it from Rege first.

"What planet is Brokaw living on?"

Planet Oligarchy?

Ok - Faux is up and running with Powell If you want to take the pulse of yer average faux viewer - read the letters . I found this one - This guy has a future writing for the Onion. Mind you this is in response to Colin Powell. Amazing on so many levels.

by mccainwillwin

The Black Panther Party along with the Weathermen Underground prolonged John McCain's captivity and caused him to receive extra beatings. It is ironic, that Bill Ayers led the antiwar protests during the Vietnam era that caused John McCain to receive extra beatings and to experience nearly six years of captivity, and today Barack Obama has been leading antiwar calls against the Iraq war. Barack Obama can not understand why John McCain is not happy that Barack Obama has not kept a distance from Bill Ayers. If Barack Obama had walked in John McCains or any of the other 600 American POWs shoes just one day, he would have no problem understanding why he should have kept his distance from Bill Ayers. The word shunning comes to mind. If Barack Obama would have shunned Bill Ayers and members of the Black Panthers Party this would not be an issue in the campaign.
John McCain is a modern day King Arthur. Instead of pulling a sword out of stone, he has performed the modern day equivalent of surviving relatively unscathed five plane crashes including being shot down over Hanoi. Thousands of pilots have died in plane crashes and it takes real skill to crash land a plane and survive. If you look at the now defunct ValueJet 592 crash in the Florida swamp that killed everyone on board, it did not take a lot of skill to fly the plane nose down straight into the Florida swamp. The 911 United Flight crash in Pennsylvania is also proof of an unskilled crash landing where everyone was killed going nose down first. So John McCain’s having survived those crashes is a testament to his flying skills. Vote John McCain!!!!!!!! Vote John McCain!!!!!! Like Evil Knievel the former motorcycle dare devil who also survived countless crashes, John McCain has survived five airplane crashes. Like Nascar drivers, who jump back in the cars after crashes John McCain has walked away and gotten back in the pilots seat.

Pffft, whatever, libs. We've got that plumber out in Toledo.

An important endorsement, I believe.

Powell made mistakes. he is considered to be a man of integrity. His endorsement was thoughtful, clear, careful, and even-handed. Rather than dumping on McCain, he was careful to praise him somewhat.

His words about Muslims were inspiring and welcome.

For those who focus on the past, you are wrong. Powell has, with this endorsement, atoned for his sins. He is welcome on the Obama parade.

Yes, Senator McCain, you were endorsed by four former Secretaries of State. All of whom are Republicans and served under Republican administrations.

The fact that Senator Obama was endorsed by a Republican is what makes the endorsement so special. In fact, in the presser after the endorsement, General Powell made a point of stressing he was still a Republican.

Senator McCain, come back and see us when you're endorsed by a Democratic Secretary of State. Then we'll be impressed.

Jon R at 11:43 has the funniest line I ever heard..."it takes real skill to crash a plane"..well I left out land... but still anyone who crashes 5 airplanes doesn't really deserve the label pilot! Most pilots try to avoid crashing and indulge in this only when all else fails.....And anyone whose father and grand father weren't admirals wouldn't have been allowed back in the cockpit after the second!

I lost respect for Powell when he did that UN speech but maybe he can redeem himself.

I expect JMc will bring up the lying of Gen. Powell at the U.N. as proof of his unworthiness to endorse Obama. Obama is now palling around with a known war criminal and liar to the American people and the world. And, of course, they are 'brothers' so one would naturally expect them to stick together. They are both un-american and would rather win the election than protect the country from its enemies. I haven't read or seen the endorsement, so am only going by this report, but is it true that Powell is now siding with Muslims and defending them against the righteous slander by JMc? How dare he!

The next 5 or 6 weeks, (is it?), will be very interesting. I only hope that the conclusion will culminate with Obama and his supporters uniting around him and the healing of the damage that has been cause by the fear-mongering of the Republicans.

The distinction between the 2 campaigns has been that The One has been encouraging reconciliation and a united effort on behalf of not only all Americans, but all peoples of the world; The Other has been doing all he could to create separation within the supporters of That One, lying at every turn, without remorse or apology. He told David Letterman, "I Screwed Up!", but only because he did not appear on his show.

It is not easy to take the path of peace and harmony, but that is what we all must do if we are to pull ourselves out of the pit of negativity we have created.

I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation,
peace,
st john

Beyond the newsworthiness of the cross party endorsement, Gen. Powell offers a particularly compelling and lucid argument for Senator Barack Obama. Far more than any other endorsement this cycle, his passion, intelligence and reason shine through as genuine and rational.

He cuts through political posturing and spin and deals explicitly with indisputable FACTS. He was able to succinctly obliterate the standard GOP positions and talking points in clear language. He offered sincere critiques about his disappointment in McCain's campaign tactics. His example of the fallen Muslim soldier's patriotism was amazing and heartfelt. If McCain had been brave enough to nominate him, things might be VERY different in this race.

Powell's political reputation may have been dimmed by his Bush administration experiences, but his intellectual and analytical gifts are clearly extraordinary. These last few days scarcely seem real. I am stunningly proud to be an American.

Surviving five plane crashes is a good record -- for a test pilot. In McCain's case, the only thing exceptional is that he was allowed to fly again.

This is huge for Sen Obama. It will dominate the news today and maybe the next two days drowning out anything JM tries to say.

I hate to trash McCain's service to the nation, but if that alone were to be the criteria for electing presidents, I know of several thousand people who qualify and most of them went through even more than McCain did. Furthermore, McCain was not only in an extremely unpopular war, he does not have the guts to denounce it, nor does he have the balls to call the Iraq war what it is... BULL!

With that said, Colin Powell, without using as many words, seems to have seen the error of his and the GOP's ways. Things have gone wrong and somebody needs to say it. That someone who has been an insider for so long can call out his own party is remarkable. Let's face it. Obama does not need any endorsements. Anyone who still thinks McCain is a good choice for president by now should have his/her myopic political sight corrected. It is no longer about race, creed, color, religion or party. It has come down to the grit. It is now about common sense.

Colin Powell, willing tool of mass murder and unjust war.
Great guy to have in our corner.
Fuck this bullshit.
And fuck all of you who consider political convenience more important that accountability.

"With that said, Colin Powell, without using as many words, seems to have seen the error of his and the GOP's ways. Things have gone wrong and somebody needs to say it. That someone who has been an insider for so long can call out his own party is remarkable."

Yeah, rats leaving a sinking ship is SO remarkable.

And fuck all of you who consider political convenience more important that accountability.

And thank you, too, for those of you who value ideological purity above pragmatism and governance.

Hairless Monkey,

You can believe that Powell is a war criminal and that this was a good development for the Obama campaign at the same time. I for one believe both. But really, do you think that any US politicians are going to try to get this gang tried and convicted of anything? Again, I'd love to see it, but I doubt it. In fact, if (when) the US won't do anything, I hope this crowd is effectively banned from international travel due to risk of being shipped to the Hague by the local authorities whereever they may happen to set foot outside the USA. But I am forced to hope for that because the American people (or their elected officials) have no desire to hold their own selves accountable. But that changes nothing about the value of this endorsement in this country to Obama. That's an American issue, not that of any particular person on this board.

What makes you think recognizing the political value of this moment negates the desire for accountability?

"And thank you, too, for those of you who value ideological purity above pragmatism and governance."

Ah, yes.
Mass slaughter vs. an opportune political endorsement.
Such a hard, hard choice.

Priorities, priorities... I think Kissinger and the Iran-Contra crowd should be first up at The Hague.

Rolling Stone has an article that says the Republicans have already stolen the election with voter caging and voter list dumping. Maybe Powell can address that issue?

You are, as usual, full of crap.
Colin Powell is a disgrace to his uniform and America. Not only did he attempt to cover up the My Lia Massacre, but his lying to the world in the Security Council makes him a pariah.
Honest people would shun someone with Powell's record. You and Obama welcome him and his racist decision.

So many of the talking "heads", both blatant Republicans and pseudo-center-left water carriers, were downplaying the Powell endorsement, of course. Note also this great post by Brad DeLong about George Will immediately pivoting into talk of blacks just voting for blacks:

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/10/washington-po-6.html

The takedown later of Rush is also great, re Rush demanding what low-experience white pols did Powell endorse, to which the obvious (and much regretted now I'm sure) answer is: George W Bush.

The RW screed on McCain's phenomenal survival record from 5 fighter crashes versus jets that crashed is just wonderful in the ignorance it exposes.

As someone has already pointed out, the most phenomenal aspect was that the AF allowed him back in any airplane after the first two crashes.

Now, I wonder if any of those pro-military readers on that blog pointed out to him the fighter planes have a little 'ejection' feature not found on jet liners?. This is because it is possible when there is only one person to eject, and the military usually considers the investment they have made in training the pilot to be worth salvaging, even if they lose the plane.

Where McCain is concerned, they blew their ROI.

This endorsement speaks volumes and I believe it will be a needle mover for two relevant voter segments this election: (1) moderate Republicans who are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the extreme rightward direction of the McCain-Palin campaign and (2) people who are holding back on Obama-Biden primarily because of foreign policy and national security concerns.

Aside from the blemish on his record in relation to the Iraq war, General Powell still garners tremendous respect from the vast majority of Republicans, and every Republican President in the last three decades has sought his advice on National Security and Foreign Policy issues. I hope that General Powell's endorsement will sway the votes of some members of the two above-mentioned segments away from John McCain and Sarah Palin and towards Senators Obama and Biden.

This election is still too close for my comfort, and the news about General Powell aside, it will be important for those of who support Senator Obama to get to the polls on election day (or sooner if you can!) and vote not only to ensure his victory, but also to demonstrate the greater sense of unity and solidarity our country desperately needs right now.

Comments welcome: http://whenelephantsfly.blogspot.com

Colin was used by Bush for evil. He knows it, but has that the class to show restraint.

I think Colin would make an excellent Sec. of Defense to come in a clean up all the Bush crap. I believe he is man of excellent character who can get that job done and rebuild the image of the US in the world.

just saying...

Thumbs up Powell!

Thumbs up Powell!

***UNPUBLISHED***

OBAMA DROPPING IN POLLS

Colin Powells endorsement is nothing more than another Black politician being pressured by Black community to join the racism this election, just like John Lewis. It�s sad to see these once well respected men throwing all that away to support a candidate based solely on skin color. Let�s not forget POWELL is the one who advised the American People to go to war!!!! Isn�t it funny how Obama has run on the bases he did not vote for the war (because he couldn�t) but has surrounded himself with those who voted for and supported the war like his VP choice???? Obama is too too unstable to be leader of the free world...
DO NOT RISK OUR COUNTRY ON OBAMA

American VOTERS are mad as HELL at MSM Obama cronies! Like CNN & MSNBC! causing the outrage against Obama. they are openly in the bag for Obama, MSM, CNN have jeopardized the security of the American people by deliberating hiding serious facts and associations of Obama. Let me get this straight. A couple of agitated yahoos in a rally of thousands yell something offensive and incendiary, and John McCain and Sarah Palin are not just guilty by association -- with total strangers, mind you -- but worse: guilty according to The New York Times of "race-baiting and xenophobia." So lets ask the New York Times to bring up Barack Obama's real associations -- 20 years with Jeremiah Wright, working on two foundations and distributing money with William Ayers, citing the raving Michael Pfleger as one who helps him keep his moral compass (Chicago Sun-Times, April 2004) and the long-standing relationship with the left-wing vote-fraud specialist ACORN -- you have crossed the line into illegitimate guilt by association. Moreover, it is tinged with racism.

The national polls have been showing a 3-6% Obama lead ever since he became the presumptive nominee in June.

- After the Democratic convention, Obama got a bounce to nearly 8%.
- After Palin's selection as VP and the Republican convention, this bounce was reversed and the McCain/Palin ticket took a brief, less than 1% lead.
- Within another week, the polls had returned to the 3-4% Obama lead that had existed before the conventions.
- After Palin's disastrous interviews, the economic crisis and McCain ridiculous responses to the crisis, Obama's lead gradually increased over a couple weeks to 10%.
- It is not surpising that now, with the crisis still ongoing but not quite as fresh, will Palin doing nothing but softball interviews and with a massive negative blitz against Obama by the McCain campaign, that the polls should start to tighten again.
- But so far, it is still at the high end of the range it has been in any time there wasn't some immediate news event driving it one way or another.
- It would be very foolish for Obama supporters to get complacent, but there is also no reason to think the current trend is any more meaningful than all the other bounces we have seen since Labor Day.