Powell and the Battleground States

The Hill:

Retired Gen. Colin Powell’s endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama could turn undecided and independent voters in the Illinois senator’s favor in Virginia, Gov. Tim Kaine (D) said Sunday.

Virginia has a large concentration of military personnel and defense-related businesses and Obama has poured a lot of resources into the state, hoping to score a rare Democratic win there.

...Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said Powell’s endorsement will also resonate strongly in Florida, another battleground state.

“We have thousands of military retirees in the state of Florida. And I think what Colin Powell's endorsement does say is it shows that Barack Obama can build bridges across party lines,” she said on the same program. Polls show Obama three points ahead of McCain in the Sunshine State.

The value of endorsements is debatable but if Powell's endorsement can shift a few military votes in Virginia, then that's nothing to sneeze at. In a close race, every vote matters. Even if the endorsement doesn't make a difference in the battleground states, the Obama campaign was definitely able to win the news cycle based on the coverage devoted to the endorsement.