Doug is reacting to Powell's endorsement of Obama very similarly to the way an Obama supporter here would react to Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter or some other prominent Democrat coming out and endorsing McCain......can you imagine what the reactions to that would be among Obama supporters???!!! ;-) Omigod.

No, so Doug of course doesn't like Powell's endorsement of Obama one bit, and he instinctively feels that Powell is betraying his party and his past political associations.

And that, in a nutshell, is one of the truly awful things about partisan politics right there. It interferes with people's right to act as free individuals, to use their own judgement, and to not be accused by the party faithful of selling out when they do.

Partisanship of that sort is the enemy of conscience, responsibility, and freedom of thought, in my opinion.

Colin Powell should be able to act as a free human being, endorse whomever he wishes, and not be condemned on a partisan basis for doing so. The same goes for Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and anyone else. They do NOT have to toe party line, and there is no reason why they necessarily should.

But how people react to what Powell did will have to do with really only one thing, ultimately: it will have to do with who THEY want to see elected president, Obama or McCain. If they want Obama elected, they'll be delighted with what Powell did (As I am, for instance). If they want McCain elected they'll be disgusted with what Powell did (as Doug is, for instance).

And it's that simple. Everyone's in it in order to see their own political agenda met and their own hopes for the election met. It's their "party" and they'll cry if they want to! ;-)

Just admit that no one here has a monopoly on patriotism or morality or ethical perfection of any sort, and get on with it. You all want someone specific to win this thing, and that will govern how you judge just about everything that happens from here till election day.