Well, that gives a whole new meaning to the term "Reagan Democrats," doesn't it?

The Palin pick seems to have been a real turning point for the 'intellectual' wing of the Republican party. It's one thing to cynically play and use the religious right to get votes. It's quite another to actually put a true-believer a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

As I said once before. These guys would rather be ruled by someone with a brain than someone with a bible.

I really wish that Obama would use a little of that cash to make just one TV spot (heck, do like McCain and do a minimal buy but video press release it to media) saying "John McCain keeps trying to scare you with personal attacks on Barack Obama and his supposed associations. But if Barack Obama were really outside the mainstream, why would all of these Republicans support him?" And go through the list - photos, names and titles -- of major R's who are Obamacans.

I think it would help break undecideds to Obama in the closing days. One more bit of comfort for the wavering.

And it'd be a hell of a lot of fun.

If this were the NFL draft, Colin Powell would be a first rounder. Scott McClellan would be Mr. Irrelevant. And Duberstein would be a fourth round Outland Trophy winner. Great pick, but it won't make headlines.

I agree with Zeitgeist on that ad being effective. Good idea. I think this shift lends credence to the theories about the actual number of voters who've rejected McCain and neoconservative politics, polling numbers aside. This is going to be a nervewracking few days. Thanks for the great posts Steve.

Palin can't expect to fall back on a career at McDonald's, then.

Re Zeitgeist's comment.

I wish the Obama campaign would save some of their money to air a commercial on Wednesday explaining to the American People that "Socialist Secessionist" Sarah's sleeps with a traitor to the United States, 'Pals Around' with a man who says he hates America's Damned Institutions, and imposes Windfall Profits Taxes on Oil Companies to "spread the wealth" around to do nothing Alaskans.

I say NEXT WEEK is not too soon to end Sarah Palin's career, and the best way to do it is give ammo to her primary opponents in 2012.

It's importance lies in the fact it provides the best possible political cover for any Republican who wants to support Obama. Reagan is the Saint of the Republican party. If his Chief of Staff supports Obama, anyone can support Obama.

Maybe McCain should try to run ads noting that with all the Republicans supporting Obama, Obama truly is the heir to Bush II and the Republican Party.

Can only work better than the other crap McCain has tried...

I agree with Layne,

It's useful insofar as it helps to break down the psychologicial barriers of cognative dissonance that many Republicans feel, and that prevents them from voting a Democratic ticket.

Of course with all these Republicans supporting Obama, I as a Democrat am starting to wonder about Obama a bit... ;) But it's a fleeting concern.

JWK, i made the argument regularly during 2006 that there was a future coalition to be had between reality-minded honest conservatives and the democrats in a coalition of the rational.

my take was that 10 - 20% of self-described republicans were what i would call "honest conservatives," while the rest are, to one degree or another, right-wing yahoos.

now that "coalition" didn't take in 2006, but i think the republicans for obama campaign is evidence that it is taking in 2008.

so i appreciate the doubts it raises about obama when reaganites endorse him, but i'm ready to welcome the honest conservatives on over in the hopes that remainder of the the republican party will dissolve into know-nothingism altogether....

Sur, Obama has a lot of Republicans supporting him but doesn't McCain have

Former VP candidate: Senator Lieberman
Former Clinton or Edward speechwrite: what's her name
Former Governor and Senator: Zell Miller

and um, five, or is it four Republican Secretary's of State's?

Oh yeah, the Peanuts guy, Secretary of State George or Charles Shultz?

I am sure there are other prominent Democrats supporting McCain. Go to Hillaryis44(-dot_)Com. There are billions of them

Neil,
Leiberman is a chickenhawk, but a total social liberal.
Zell Miller is a nutjob.
The Secretaries of State are all Republicans.
And if you can't name the other "prominent" Democrats, what the hell good are they for McCain's campaign?

I als think Obama's campaign should put out an ad touting these endorsements. A list scrolling down the screen with names and previous positions in Republican administrations, in case the public doesn't recognize them. Just to let them know how truly "Marxist" Obama is.

And Duberstein joins, of course, former Sen. Larry Pressler, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Gov. William Weld, former Gov. Arne Carlson, Charles Fried, Scott McClellan , and Ken Adelman as notable Republicans who've announced their support for Obama over the last couple of weeks.

You forgot to list another prominent Republican: Stephen Colbert.

What a load of crap. He's only doing this because Colin Powell is black.

The Answer Is Green,

Bravo.

If this were the NFL draft, Colin Powell would be a first rounder. Scott McClellan would be Mr. Irrelevant. And Duberstein would be a fourth round Outland Trophy winner. Great pick, but it won't make headlines.

Nobody's going to recognize the guy's name, but saying, "Even Ronald Reagan's chief of staff supports Obama" will have some weight with people who aren't too deep into Limbaugh territory.

zeitgeist and lance have nailed it. If Obama wins, it will be a happy mystery to more than a few why his communications "brain trust" declined to use these obvious weapons to his advantage. If he loses, future campaign historians will point to these lost opportunities to communicate to the electorate just who the GOP ticket really is.

It's importance lies in the fact it provides the best possible political cover for any Republican who wants to support Obama. Reagan is the Saint of the Republican party. If his Chief of Staff supports Obama, anyone can support Obama.Posted by: Layne

The problem though is that these people no longer represent the Rethug party. Reagan was a fucking idiot coming and going, but he wasn't a religious zealot and really kept the Moral Majority at arms length. This all changed with the Rethugs in the 1990s ("Calling Ralph Reed!"), and as far as presidential politics, the "religious" right was more or less in the wilderness until 2000. And it wasn't really until 2004 that they became a seeming fixture in the Party of Lincoln.

The "religious" right is anti-intellectual (as the excessively religious are everywhere) and doesn't know who any of these members of the "intellectual wing" of the Rethug party are. How many Joe the Plumber-types know who Christopher Buckley or any of the rest of these paleo-cons are? How many of them really care that Nobel laureates back Obama?

Many if not most supporters of McCain and Palin are really very much the also rans of American society characterized primarily by their lack of intellect. So I'm not sure that Reagan or even Eisenhower rising from the dead to endorse Obama would convince most of them.

Duberstein joins, of course, former Sen. Larry Pressler, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Gov. William Weld, former Gov. Arne Carlson, Charles Fried, Scott McClellan , and Ken Adelma

*sigh*

Can you imagine a Republican party reformed under a core of THESE guys instead of the battalion of arthropods waiting in the wings (Allen, Gilmore, Brownback, Bauer, and Reed)?

That's the kind of dread I'd approve of. (Not that I could support them, but I welcome the competition because I put "Country First".