There is a lot of hand wringing going on right now about General Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama. My response to the endorsement is farewell General Powell. If he has left the Republican Party he will not be missed, and if he still considers himself a Republican, his influence has all but evaporated.  Either way, the Republican Party is better off without him.

General Powell's greatest sin is that he participated in the Bush deceit on the country that dragged us into the unconstitutional war in Iraq. Now, I am not one to ascribe motives to people, so I will look at the possible scenarios here. Perhaps General Powell did know that the intelligence that he trotted before the world was fradulent. If so, his participation in the run up to the way makes him no better than George Bush, and he is as morally culpable as anyone in the administration for the unecessary death and destruction. However, General Powell may not have known that he was peddling lies to get us into that mess. If that is true, he is truly an uninformed, incurious rube who should not be let anywhere near the defense aparatus in this country.

By accepting Powell's nomination (indeed actively courting it), Obama's dedication to a peace agenda comes seriously into question. This is clear example of how pragmatism trumps principle all too often for Obama. This endorsement may pry a few indpendent voters away from McCain, but it may also lead to the disillusionment of some of the anti-war voters. In the end, the endorsement could end up being a net loss for Obama. I would encourage the anti-war right to check out the Baldwin/Castle ticket - I think they may like what they read.