A Powell endorsement?

By Michael J.W. Stickings

It might be coming. (Perhaps on Meet the Press this Sunday.)

Powell doesn't have nearly as much credibility as he had before he Iraq War -- that is, before he sacrificed it all out of loyalty to Bush (or whatever else prompted him to play the mouthpiece for deception, and he certainly had his concerns even as he was voicing the party line) -- but he still seems to be a fairly popular public figure (though I haven't seen any recent approval ratings to back that up), particularly among independents.

I don't want to overstate the case -- endorsements don't usually mean that much, after all -- but I think a Powell endorsement at this point, with the three debates behind us and with Obama having opened up solid leads in the polls and with time running out, would be a significant coup for Obama. It would give him a high-profile boost to his own foreign policy credibility (that is, it would act as a major vote of confidence -- even though polls show he already has the confidence of voters even in what was thought to be one of McCain's strongest areas) and there would likely be overwhelmingly positive media coverage next week (certainly the establishment press still likes Powell a lot). As well, it could be just what Obama needs to win over remaining independents and "undecideds," those voters seemingly waiting for something, anything, to compel them to vote one way or the other.

We shall see.