Powell’s endorsement in 2008 came as a shock to the McCain campaign, as it showed a break in the Bush alliance. This year, some were wondering if Powell was just waiting for the Foreign Policy debate or if he was seriously considering Mitt Romney - and used that possibility to show Obama losing support among respected political figures. Had he endorsed Romney, we would hear nothing but 24/7 talk about how doomed, doomed, DOOMED President Obama was. Now it’s just an endorsement and probably “doesn’t mean all that much” according to Republicans.