Actually, I hope this doesn't happen. Obama ought to win this election on his own merits.

I've got to reluctantly (as someone who served as a junior officer in the military while Powell was the top dog, and who WAS always a huge admirer of his) agree with morzer.

Maybe he broke the powell doctrine that one time, when he got up and supported the bush iraq theories (which, for me personally -- don't take away my liberal card anyone -- took me from "what the fuck, are these guys serious?" mode on the iraq war to a --temporary -- "oh maybe there's something to this"). Yeah, he's the only one who I "trusted" and therefore the only who I feel betrayed by.

Ain't no way he sticks his neck out again. And he should. I mean it seems obvious from his statements that he'd fall on the obama side (at least it seems obvious to me), and the crossing the aisle types are what's needed now to even keep obama IN the race.

If Powell went all in about how his realist dreams of sensible foreign policy were trashed by Bush et al and McCain's echoing of Bush sentiments made him genuinely fear for the direction of the country and he went all in on "McCain is dangerous, Obama is a realist, we need someone with a grasp of reality in the White House" then it might make a difference. A quickie endorsement won't.

Not that I think that will happen.

And, it would only make the news until McCain releases his next Wille Horton ad du jour. "Lipstick on a pig" anybody?

That Powell's luster is severely tarnished in the view of so many is another story.

But if Powell endorsed McCain, that would help McCain win a few votes, and Obama would have little to counter it.

For the left and right, it probably wouldn't mean a thing.

Senator Obama (and Axelrod) better have more than that in their October arsenal if they want to destroy the Rove-McCain campaign.

Do you think Dem women should forego lipstick for the next 60 days since the Rove-McCain people think they can be the only ones to use lipstick?

Would a drop in lipstick sales destroy our economy? Oh wait ...

As for the topic at hand - what about a Powell-Hagel joint endorsement.

But man would be sweet if Powell made a dramatic endorsement for Obama with a speech.

A powerful joint Powell-Hagel endorsement might play well. But it seems an outside shot--let's work with the people we have. And if the media would keep on the "oh spare me" eyerolling at the silly vapors the Republicans claim to be having that would be nice. Also to report the straight-up bridge to nowhere lie as a lie, and not "on the one hand, on the other hand."

So here's a hint: if you are waiting for Colin Powell to do the right thing, prepare for a long fucking wait, because there is not *one* thing he's ever done that would lead you to believe he'll ever do the right thing.

And, btw, Michael Crowley has the insight of Trig Palin...

who wants to be endorsed by a war criminal?

"Highly placed sources said a handful of top advisers signed off on how the CIA would interrogate top al Qaeda suspects -- whether they would be slapped, pushed, deprived of sleep or subjected to simulated drowning, called waterboarding.

The high-level discussions about these "enhanced interrogation techniques" were so detailed, these sources said, some of the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed -- down to the number of times CIA agents could use a specific tactic.

The advisers were members of the National Security Council's Principals Committee, a select group of senior officials who met frequently to advise President Bush on issues of national security policy.

At the time, the Principals Committee included Vice President Cheney, former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as CIA Director George Tenet and Attorney General John Ashcroft."
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4583256

Nate Silver posited that having the Palin announcement the day after Obama's acceptance speech made it feel like the latter was given a month after the former, rather than just the previous night. I think a Powell endorsement would give Obama about a week in terms narrative framing.

Personally, I already feel vindicated. My fear is that Powell will come across like another Scott McClellan: a partisan rat who's desperately fleeing the sinking ship of the Bush Adminstration to salvage his own reputation.

That would likely do more harm than good. So if Powell isn't truly passionate and utterly convincing, he should just STFU.

I tend to read Powell as being loyal to the Bush clan, and particularly GHWB. His loyalties to the Republican party seem somewhat less clear.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/09/11/hunting_binladen/index.html

Unless of course, Rove is having bin Laden thawed out for delivery on Halloween.

Dumbya has admitted that he doesn't care much about capturing bin Laden. Repiglicans are such obedient fools that this doesn't even bother them. But then most of the victims were New York residents, and the GOP regulars don't actually care about such people all that much.