“Does anybody in their right mind think that Gen. Powell would ever endorse anyone that had any patience with terrorists?"

Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama this morning on Meet the Press has sparked a variety of responses among people on all sides of the race.  Obama is "beyond honored and deeply humbled." He will use this as a huge legitimizer with regard to foreign policy/military issues and reaching across the aisle and working with Republicans.  Politico reports that David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, expects that Powell's endorsement will be persuasive to many independent voters.  In addition, the Democratic campaign will be able to repeat and use Powell's harsh words for Republicans to their advantage.  McCain responded to the endorsement with the "doesn't come as a surprise" line, as if to say "oh well, no big deal."  McCain did get an important endorsement of his own today, but telenovela actress Katie Barberi just doesn't have the same effect as the former U.S. Secretary of State.  A Mexican-American, she does raise the important topic of Hispanic voters and their concerns in her announcement of support for John McCain.

Rush Limbough and George Will have labeled the endorsement race-based and disregard its importance with regard to McCain's legitimacy.  Limbough inserts race into the debate once more, belittles Powell's viewpoints, and does not address any of Powell's critiques of the Republican party.  Will, as well, reduces the endorsement to race and allows no room for intelligent reasoning on Powell's part.  Newt Gingrich, on the other hand, acknowledges the importance of Powell's endorsement, saying it "eliminated the experience argument" against Obama.  David Gergen calls Powell's "the most important endorsement of the campaign so far."

Politico's "Arena"poses the question, "What is your response to Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama and his criticism of the Republican campaign?"  Academics declare that it is greatly significant because not only is Powell highly respected across the board, but he also provides another major repudiation of President Bush and the Republican Party.  Republican strategist Kevin Madden agrees with Axelrod that the endorsement could move swing voters toward Obama.  "Arena" moderator Fred Barbash adds that the topic of Powell's endorsement has generated the largest reader response (along with some Palin days), probably signifying the enormity of the endorsement.

Ultimately, Obama received a big legitimacy boost, and McCain was forced to defend his campaign's decisions.  Politico calls the day a big win for Obama.  This endorsement doesn't bode well for McCain who needs to turn the race around fast in order to pull through on November 4.

Beyond the campaigns, I am personally relieved that someone finally cut through the campaign chatter to address the problem of how we have attached such strong negativity and hatred to Muslims.