Value of an Endorsement?

By Fester:

There are rumors that Colin Powell will endorse Barack Obama.  My question is what is the value of that endorsement?

Powell was valuable to Bush in 2000 on two grounds.  First he was a very popular Serious Old Man of Washington that could dispel the belief that Bush’s inexperience in foreign policy.  He was the Shadow Secretary of State for most of the 2000 election and he was part of a coterie of ‘old hands’ that would be the wise advisers around the CEO president.  The second advantage of Powell was that he was the highest profile African American political figure in play, and he went to the Republicans. He did not move many if any African American votes, but he mollified swing voter concerns.

Now let’s fast forward eight years. His first value proposition was negated by the PowerPoint of Death presentation at the United Nations, and his second value proposition has been supplanted by the Democratic nominee.  He is valuable within the sub-group of Republicans for Obama as he is one of the leading figures within the out-groups of the Republican Party that the conservative base does not trust, but Republicans for Obama will only be slightly more influential than Democrats for McCain.

So what is the value of a Powell endorsement?  Is it a sign of in-Village acceptance that being a willing accomplice to the strategic idiocy of supporting the Iraq War and lying about it is Okay?  Or is it just another familiar Republican face repudiating his own party that will allow the Obama campaign to win a news cycle or two? 

Comments

[BJ]

While I agree that the "PowerPoint of Death" presentation at the UN pretty much ruined his reputation for a lot of people, it didn't completely destroy it and his subsequent turfing and the view that he actually tried to talk some sense into Bush but was ganged up on and sidelined by the Cheney/Rumsfeld tag-team has lifted his rep. back into considerable respectability to the average person.

I don't know that any endorsements have made much of difference overall so far this election season, but Powell's certainly wouldn't hurt.

[Ron Beasley]

I agree with BJ, Powell may be damaged but he was had by the Cheney administration like the rest of us and most people see it that way. He may be a bit to hawkish for me but not for the majority of voters.

[Fledermaus]

Only a fool, or a frenchman, could believe otherwise.