I guess I’m a little confused here. Powell openly endorsed Obama and claims he voted for him. McCain seemed to meet all the criteria Powell now claims he’s looking for. So how does he consider himself a Republican if he takes a pass on McCain to vote for Obama? He also acknowledges he has voted for a host of Democrat candidates in the past. So color me skeptical but that would disqualify him as a Republican to me.

How about this: if he wants the support of the conservatives in the Republican Party, what does he stand for? What is his solution for GITMO? How about Iraq? Iran? Af-Pak? N. Korea? What would he do in the first 100 days? How about the deficit? The banks? Auto companies? How about the security of the country? For a man who rails against the conservatives in the party, he offers no alternatives – nothing.

As for being more inclusive – to what point? McCain was to the left of Hillary and Obama still got elected. Is there simply no line left in the Republican Party? None? Then we should simply all join the Democrats in their plunge left and lean back as our country plunges into bankruptcy and a pre-9/11 mindset on security.

If this is where we are headed, participation by the conservatives in the party is meaningless anyway, the outcome for the country would be exactly the same if one of the new Republicans that Powell in yearning for were elected.