They're contagious

In general, I think Barack Obama would be well advised to stay the hell away from the GOP this year, no matter how much bipartisan cred he thinks it might win him. Still, this could be a very powerful gesture -- few to zero GOP operatives still have as much public credibility as Powell:

But Novak does think that Powell will endorse Obama. This, Novak says, has some inside McCain's camp worried. "While McCain strategists shrug off defections from [lesser-known Republicans], they wince in anticipating headlines generated by Powell's expected endorsement of Obama," Novak writes.

Elsewhere, commenting on Novak's column, Time's Mark Halperin throws in a little bit of additional speculation, saying Powell could be "the surprise keynote speaker at the Democrats' convention in Denver" this year.

I don't think his credibility deserves to be in good standing, but my impression is that a lot of Americans think Powell basically got rolled by Cheney, and still retain a good image of him. Moreover, if Powell used a public endorsement of Obama to say that now's the time to leave Iraq, I think he could be very influential indeed.

Of course, the redneck vote will dismiss it as blacks sticking together.