If reports are true that Colin Powell will endorse Senator Obama this weekend on Meet the Press, it may be a huge moment that gives a further shot of credibility into the arm of the Obama campaign.

I know that many progressives are upset with the role Powell played leading up to the war in Iraq. And, there's no doubt that Powell showed poor judgment in believing the fudged intelligence presented to him, which he then presented to the United Nations. At the same time, however, we do have evidence that Powell tried behind the scenes to change things and even prevent going to war. In this, he can be a powerful advocate for Obama, noting that for all the talk of lack of experience, Barack Obama was right on the Iraq war, and showed better judgment than the entire Bush administration, himself included.

Powell has been open about some of his own culpability, for presenting bad information to the UN, and accepts the fact that it will be a stain on his record, telling a reporter, "Of course it will. It's a blot. I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world, and (it) will always be part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now."

I'm not excusing Colin Powell for doing what he did. But, at the same time, him being one of the few who was in the White House during that time puts him in a unique position -- to say he's been there and seen what happens when intelligence is no good and twisted, when we go into a war for the wrong reasons and in the wrong way, and that he's confident that Barack Obama is the guy to not only fix those mistakes, but to not repeat them.

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The idea that being endorsed by someone like that is a good thing - well, that logic may fly in the television studios of New York and D.C., but it shouldn't fly anywhere else. A person whose most important legacy is destroying America's international credibility shouldn't be seen as a Serious or Respectable person, nor an asset to any campaign, no matter how many apologists - liberal or conservative - claim that "behind the scenes" Powell was really a good guy. He wasn't a good guy - he was one of the handful of people who knowingly lied us into a war. That the elite media imparts even an ounce of credibility to this dishonest yes-man is not a commentary on Powell's alleged positive attributes. It is a reflection of the elite media's deep disdain for the facts and truth it purports to respect.
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... there's no evidence that Colin Powell has a huge following outside of television green rooms in Washington, D.C., or in the African American community - and there never has been such evidence.