Dog Bites Man

Via Mark Kleiman, Glenn Reynolds proclaims Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama a “dog bites man” story. Really?

Colin Powell was National Security Adviser under Ronald Reagan. He was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H.W. Bush. He continued in that role in the early Clinton years, in which capacity he helped congressional Republicans spike several Clinton administration initiatives. After retiring, he became active in Republican Party politics, speaking at the 1996 Republican National Convention on behalf of Bob Dole. He likewise spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention on behalf of George W. Bush and campaigned for Bush before being appointed Secretary of State and, after Bush was inaugurated, became Secretary of State. It’s true that Powell’s disillusionment with the state of the GOP’s capture by its furthest-right elements has been a developing story over a period of years and thus the endorsement doesn’t come as a shock, but that years-long period of disillusionment is, itself, an important story that culminates in the Obama endorsement.