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Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon
Like I said, he was clearly holding his cards til the very end.
As far as Palin goes, when she was "all the rage" it wasn't yet clear just how woefully unprepared she was. If you believe Powell (and it's hard to take anything straight when it's coming from a politician), he wasn't concerned only because she represents the aspect of the party that he finds most reprehensible. He was concerned because of that and her spectacular implosion over the last month, as well as what those together imply about McCain's judgment and capacity for decision making.
But the truth is, Powell has been riding the fence for a year now. As Y pointed out months ago, Powell donated the maximum to McCain's campaign. At the same time, he was serving as an advisor to Obama. Powell clearly wanted to bet on the winning horse. He held out and only now is he placing all his money on Obama just as the windows are closing. Or more accurately, just as Obama is coming around the final turn ahead by several lengths with McCain fading fast.
I'm not trying to suggest Powell has done anything bold or daring here. It's pretty clearly rather the opposite. But what is being much overlooked in the publicity is the extent to which the endorsement of Obama really is consistent with Powell's record.
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Not being familiar with Powell's public posture, you've made a case that he's consistent. What I don't know is to what extent he's been inconsistent with those pronouncements. You probably know better.