Krauthammer vents, Weld backs Obama

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Does anyone care that Charlie Krauthammer will be voting for McCain?

Oh, no, he's not one of those "wet-fingered conservatives leaping to Barack Obama before they're left out in the cold without a single state dinner for the next four years," as if that's the only reason so many of them are lining up behind Obama, he's the courageous, trend-bucking conservative who sees things as they really are: it's Obama who's gone negative, not McCain, and, yes, it's McCain who is "the most prepared, most knowledgeable, most serious foreign policy thinker in the United States Senate," who "not only has the best instincts but has the honor and the courage to, yes, put country first, as when he carried the lonely fight for the surge that turned Iraq from catastrophic defeat into achievable strategic victory." (Actually, McCain's an angry, impetuous, stubborn man who has embraced a radical, militant neoconservative -- i.e., Krauthammer's -- worldview.)

What a waste of time. (Why have I wasted my time on it?) It's such an over-the-top endorsement of McCain, with all the usual anti-Obama smears. He means it seriously, of course, but it reads like a parody.

There's a reason many Republicans and conservatives, including Colin Powell and Ken Adelman, are supporting Obama. A Republican newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, made the case for Obama extremely well. Needless to say, and as per usual, Krauthammer finds himself screaming into his own partisan void.

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Meanwhile, back in reality, former Massachusetts Governor William Weld, a generally moderate Republican, is endorsing Obama:

Senator Obama is a once-in-a-lifetime candidate who will transform our politics and restore America's standing in the world. We need a president who will lead based on our common values and Senator Obama demonstrates an ability to unite and inspire. Throughout this campaign I've watched his steady leadership through trying times and I'm confident he is the best candidate to move our country forward.

As far as endorsements go, this one doesn't mean all that much, or at least won't affect the race much, but it's yet another sign both of Obama's incredible appeal and of a Republican Party in collapse.