Matt Yglesias

Dog Bites Man

Via Mark Kleiman, Glenn Reynolds proclaims Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama a “dog bites man” story. Really?

Colin Powell was National Security Adviser under Ronald Reagan. He was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H.W. Bush. He continued in that role in the early Clinton years, in which capacity he helped congressional Republicans spike several Clinton administration initiatives. After retiring, he became active in Republican Party politics, speaking at the 1996 Republican National Convention on behalf of Bob Dole. He likewise spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention on behalf of George W. Bush and campaigned for Bush before being appointed Secretary of State and, after Bush was inaugurated, became Secretary of State. It’s true that Powell’s disillusionment with the state of the GOP’s capture by its furthest-right elements has been a developing story over a period of years and thus the endorsement doesn’t come as a shock, but that years-long period of disillusionment is, itself, an important story that culminates in the Obama endorsement.

Palling Around With Republican Former Secretaries of State

Okay, I just actually watched the Powell endorsement on my Tivo, and I think it’s a more devastating blow to John McCain than I initially would have thought. Of course this won’t move real liberals, who don’t like Powell much and are already committed to Obama anyway. Nor will it move conservatives, who don’t like Powell either. But there are people out there — lots of people — who, just like Powell, voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and then again in 2004 even though maybe Bush was a bit too conservative for their tastes. Now those people maybe regret having done so and see that Bush was a disastrous president. But at the same time, the Democratic Party seems to have shifted left, and nominated a relatively green figure, while the GOP nominated someone who has a reputation for moderation.

And now here’s Powell, probably the only Republican moderate with a meaningful national profile, speaking in detail about problems with McCain, about the process of growing disillusioned with McCain, and vouching for Obama’s readiness to lead and fitness for office. In a lot of respects guys like Jim Leach and Wayne Gilchrest have, on the merits, been better messengers for this kind of message. But nobody knows who Leach and Gilchrest are, whereas everybody knows who Powell is. It’s a signal to every right-of-center person who maybe thinks the GOP has gotten too right-of-center that Obama’s okay. Meanwhile, it’s a reassuring reminder of what kind of people Obama does, in reality, pal around with. Powell was National Security Adviser under Ronald Reagan. He was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs under George H.W. Bush. And he was Secretary of State under George W. Bush. Those probably aren’t the most impressive qualifications to hard-core liberal blog readers, but to Powell’s fellow moderate Republicans I think that’s a pretty heavyweight resume.

Powell Endorses Obama

So reports CNN. Liberals generally find it hard to forgive Powell’s key role in selling the Iraq War to the public, and with some good reason. Still, he’s one of the most popular figures in public life and though he’s not well-liked by the hard-core rightwing either, he’s definitely identified as a Republican. His endorsement helps ratify the post-Palin trend toward McCain solidifying his base but losing his once-formidable support from moderates. Plus I bet it’ll inspire someone at the Corner to say something racist.

Sen. Hagel’s Wife For Obama

It came up at dinner tonight that neither Chuck Hagel nor Colin Powell yet seems to have made a presidential endorsement and was all set to do a post on the subject, when along comes word that the Hagel striptease is moving forward a bit with his wife stepping forward to endorse Obama, while the Senator himself stays on the sidelines. Weird.