I just wrote about the possibility of a Colin Powell endorsement for Obama, and that possibility has become even more likely today.  Powell joined five other former Secretaries of State in calling for the next President to engage in talks with Iran - a move championed by Obama and belittled by McCain.

Even Henry Kissinger, Dr. Strangelove himself, is calling for sustained negotiations.  The group said that a concern for Israel should not hamper discussions.

Beyond policy, the meeting was interesting for James Baker's hesitant endorsement of McCain, but even more curious was Powell's dance around the issue of endorsements:

 

Powell, the first African American secretary of state, said he had not decided yet. "I am an American first," Powell said.

He said he had told Obama, "I am not going to vote for you just because you are black."

The critical issue, he said, "is who is going to keep us safe."

Considering that the others openly declared their endorsements, Powell once more refused to back the candidate of his own party.  But even more striking is his "just because" quote, which implies that he will endorse Obama because he "is going to keep us safe."

Powell is arguably the most sought after endorsement left in the final stretch of the campaign.  A well-timed statement, or perhaps even a Sunday morning appearance, could dominate a news cycle or two.

More importantly, it would give Obama's approach to foreign policy a distinct legitimacy, especially if the cable news programs keep showing shots of Powell holding up anthrax at the UN.  Ironically, the return of this personal nadir for Powell will provide tons of grist for the cable shows, and should serve to reinstate a reputation sullied by his inisistence on playing the "good soldier" over the good of the American public.

Later in the article, Powell contradicts the hard-line moral clarity of Sarah Palin by suggesting that the Russians were not "unprovoked," as she had suggested to "Charlie."

Powell, who served President Bush from 2001-2005, sought to allay suspicions that Russia was turning into a second Soviet Union, even though it acted "brutally" in its conflict last month with Georgia.

It was "foolhardy," he said, for Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to "light a match" with a military operation in South Ossetia to forcibly reassert is authority over the breakaway region.

Score another one for Obama, who allowed that foreign policy is a complex game of chess, even when people like Bush and Palin want to play checkers.