Certainly, one thing this election has shown is that we aren’t all born with the gift of objectivity—or perhaps the parenting of fairness just wasn’t provided to some folks. Weighing the evidence objectively and taking the facts facially, Obama is certainly the superior candidate. Week after week, there has been mounting hard evidence that a McCain/Palin presidency would be disastrous. From Sarah Palin’s inexperience, to John McCain’s fundamental beliefs regarding economics, the world cannot stomach another eight years of status quo maverick politics delivered by a superpower.

By objectively assessing the facts and evidence, more and more Conservatives and/or Republicans are disassociating themselves from their party or ideology by endorsing or showing an intent to support Obama, because the evidence and facts cannot be ignored. These dissenters are observing something greater than their beliefs in a political party—the world is on fire.

Finally, John McCain keeps warning about an all democratically controlled House, Senate, and Executive. However, maybe this is the progressiveness that America needs, since the Republicans have continually diluted legislation into ineffectiveness with their policies, while continually blaming the Democrats for the resulting ineffectiveness, although the Republicans have had a continuous negative impact on government. For example, the Republicans haven’t gone far enough on climate change policy and energy issues—they keep relying on the unsustainable policy of offshore drilling; furthermore, health care and education haven’t been Republican priorities, only deregulation. We need progressive leadership into this new era, because we have complex problems that require broad, progressive thinking, not narrow restrictive ideology.

Some Conservative/Republican endorsements for Obama have included:

Colin Powell endorses Obama:

“I watched Mr. Obama,” particularly in recent weeks, Powell said, and “he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge . . . in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor.”

Obama “has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people,” he said. “He is crossing lines — ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines.” Powell added that the Democratic senator had chosen in Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. a running mate who “is ready to be president on Day One.”

In a telephone interview yesterday, Powell said his decision had been “emerging since the conventions, when I heard the convention speeches, saw who the vice presidential candidates were and then watched the debates.”

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Former Bush White House press secretary Scott McClellan will be voting for Obama:

The White House press secretary hinted he would do it in May, and now Scott McClellan has finally pulled the trigger, telling CNN’s D.L. Hughley “I will be voting for Barack Obama… I am going to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done.” This scenario looks familiar, and may presage more last-minute Obama endorsements to come.

McClellan is the second high-ranking Bush administration official to endorse the Democratic presidential nominee in as many weeks, following former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s surprise (and surprisingly moving) declaration of support for Obama last weekend.

If and when a third ex-Bushie declares for Obama — there is, conveniently, one more pre-election weekend clear for an announcement — we’ll know this is a coordinated effort to produce maximum gain for Obama, not to mention maximum losses for McCain and his party.

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McCain’s ex-aide, Charles Fried, to vote for Obama:

A Harvard Law School professor who advised the McCain campaign and once served as a high-ranking official in the Reagan Justice Department announced Friday that he had voted for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, part of a growing trend of leading Republicans crossing party lines to endorse the Illinois senator.

Conservative legal icon Charles Fried elaborates on his Obama endorsement:

To me, the most neck-snapping Republican endorsement of Obama comes from Charles Fried, the solicitor general under Ronald Reagan. To say Fried is an important legal figure in the pro-life world is an understatement.

As Solicitor General under Ronald Reagan, Fried was the one who argued that the court should overturn Roe v. Wade in Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

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Former Republican Senator Charles McC. Mathias Jr. endorses Obama:

Sens. Obama and McCain have vastly different backgrounds and strikingly different visions of how America should navigate these tumultuous times. For me, the decision on who should be the next president transcends private friendship or political affiliation. My decision is based on the long-range needs of our country and which of these two candidates I feel is better suited to recharge America’s economic health, restore its prestige abroad and inspire anew all people who cherish freedom and equality. For me, that person is Barack Obama.

Lifelong Conservative Ken Adelman intends to vote for Barack Obama:

Ken Adelman is a lifelong conservative Republican. Campaigned for Goldwater, was hired by Rumsfeld at the Office of Economic Opportunity under Nixon, was assistant to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld under Ford, served as Reagan’s director of arms control, and joined the Defense Policy Board for Rumsfeld’s second go-round at the Pentagon, in 2001. Adelman’s friendship with Rumsfeld, Cheney, and their wives goes back to the sixties, and he introduced Cheney to Paul Wolfowitz at a Washington brunch the day Reagan was sworn in.

In recent years, Adelman and his friends Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz fell out over his criticisms of the botching of the Iraq War. Still, he remains a bona-fide hawk (“not really a neo-con but a con-con”) who has never supported a Democrat for President in his life. Two weeks from now that’s going to change: Ken Adelman intends to vote for Barack Obama. He can hardly believe it himself.

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Former Republican Governor Arne Carlson endorses Obama, spurred by Bachmann remarks:

Former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on Thursday, saying Obama represented the best hope for an America facing an economic crisis and criticizing Republicans for waging a mean-spirited campaign that has “been going down all these side roads.”

Speaking at the State Capitol, where he was introduced by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Carlson said his party had strayed from the moderate philosophies of past Republican leaders such as Ohio Sen. Robert Taft and President Dwight Eisenhower. “I consider myself a Republican maverick,” Carlson said in explaining his endorsement of Obama.

Former Republican Governor William Weld of Massachusetts endorses Obama:

Former Governor William Weld of Massachusetts is the latest Republican to cross over and support Democrat Barack Obama for president.

Weld held a press conference in Salem, N.H. to announce his endorsement. While Massachusetts is a slam dunk for Obama, neighboring New Hampshire is a competitive state.

Weld told the Associated Press that while he has never endorsed a Democrat for president before, his choice in recent weeks became “close to a no-brainer.”

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Christopher Buckley endorses Obama:

Joining the steady drumbeat of conservative pundits giving up on John McCain today is Christopher Buckley. Unlike, say, David Brooks or Charles Krauthammer, Buckley doesn’t merely lament the nasty turn McCain’s campaign has taken, or predict a Republican defeat. Instead, he goes so far as actually promising to vote for Barack Obama and offering praise for the Democrat.

To demonstrate the magnitude of this heresy, a bit of background: The son of modern conservatism’s patron saint, the late William F. Buckley, Christopher remains a columnist for the National Review, his father’s magazine.

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Former Republican Senator Larry Pressler endorses Obama:

Former Sen. Larry Pressler, R-S.D., has decided to endorse Democrat Barack Obama for president, Politico reported Sunday.

Pressler — the first Vietnam veteran to serve in the U.S. Senate — joins a list of prominent Republicans who have endorsed Obama. He has also donated $500 to the Obama campaign, Politico said.

“I just got the feeling that Obama will be able to handle this financial crisis better, and I like his financial team of (former Treasury Secretary Robert) Rubin and (former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul) Volcker better,” he said.

London’s Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson endorses Obama:

The mayor of London, a member of the British political party that is a traditional ally of U.S. Republicans, says Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama “visibly incarnates change and hope, at a time when America desperately needs both.”

In an article for Tuesday’s edition of The Daily Telegraph newspaper, London Mayor Boris Johnson of the center-right Conservative Party was blunt in his assessment of President Bush’s legacy and how an Obama presidency would break from it.

Johnson’s endorsement of the Democratic candidate came after McCain declared in a radio address Saturday that “socialist leaders” in Europe admire Obama. The Republican candidate has likened Obama’s tax policies to socialism.

Criticizing the Bush administration, Johnson called the invasion of Iraq “catastrophic” and said the economic crisis had forced the U.S. government into a “humiliating resort to semi-socialist solutions.”

“Democracy and capitalism are the two great pillars of the American idea,” he wrote. “To have rocked one of those pillars may be regarded as a misfortune. To have damaged the reputation of both, at home and abroad, is a pretty stunning achievement for an American president. “

Johnson said that only a clean break in the form of an Obama victory would help the U.S. recover in the eyes of the world.

UPDATE: +5 FOR OBAMA

Francis Fukuyama, an original developer of neoconservativism, endorses Obama:

I’m voting for Barack Obama this November for a very simple reason. It is hard to imagine a more disastrous presidency than that of George W. Bush. It was bad enough that he launched an unnecessary war and undermined the standing of the United States throughout the world in his first term. But in the waning days of his administration, he is presiding over a collapse of the American financial system and broader economy that will have consequences for years to come. As a general rule, democracies don’t work well if voters do not hold political parties accountable for failure. While John McCain is trying desperately to pretend that he never had anything to do with the Republican Party, I think it would a travesty to reward the Republicans for failure on such a grand scale.

McCain’s appeal was always that he could think for himself, but as the campaign has progressed, he has seemed simply erratic and hotheaded. His choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate was highly irresponsible; we have suffered under the current president who entered office without much knowledge of the world and was easily captured by the wrong advisers. McCain’s lurching from Reaganite free- marketer to populist tribune makes one wonder whether he has any underlying principles at all.

Former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein endorses Obama:

Duberstein said he was influenced by another prominent Reagan official – Colin Powell – in his decision.

“Well let’s put it this way – I think Colin Powell’s decision is in fact the good housekeeping seal of approval on Barack Obama.”

Powell served as national security advisor to Reagan during Duberstein’s tenure as chief of staff.

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Former co-chair of Mike Huckabee’s New Hampshire campaign and alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention Fred Bramante endorses Obama:

Fred Bramante announced on a conference call with reporters that he is backing Obama because he opposes John McCain’s plan to use school vouchers.

“I can’t live with that, I can’t be out there advocating for a candidate who I believe is going to have the center piece of his education plan an issue that I have opposed,” Bramante told reporters.

Bramante also said that he notified former Gov. Craig Benson about his decision last night.

“I had a conversation with Governor Benson, I wanted to give him a heads-up about what I was doing and he said, ‘Fred you’re putting the kids before the party and I applaud you for doing it,’” Bramante said.

Bramante stressed that he is not switching his party affiliation and still intends to vote for Republicans down-the-ballot.

Former head of the Office of Legal Counsel (U.S. Assistant Attorney General) for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, Republican Douglas W. Kmiec endorses Obama:

This endorsement may be of little note or consequence, except perhaps that it comes from an unlikely source: namely, a former constitutional legal counsel to two Republican presidents. The endorsement will likely supply no strategic advantage equivalent to that represented by the very helpful accolades the senator has received from many of high stature and accomplishment, including most recently, from Gov. Bill Richardson. Nevertheless, it is important to be said publicly in a public forum in order that it be understood. It is not arrived at without careful thought and some difficulty.

As a Republican, I strongly wish to preserve traditional marriage not as a suspicion or denigration of my homosexual friends but as recognition of the significance of the procreative family as a building block of society. As a Republican and as a Catholic, I believe life begins at conception, and it is important for every life to be given sustenance and encouragement. As a Republican, I strongly believe that the Supreme Court of the United States must be fully dedicated to the rule of law and to the employ of a consistent method of interpretation that keeps the court within its limited judicial role. As a Republican, I believe problems are best resolved closest to their source and that we should never arrogate to a higher level of government that which can be more effectively and efficiently resolved below. As a Republican and a constitutional lawyer, I believe religious freedom does not mean religious separation or mindless exclusion from the public square.

In various ways, Sen. Barack Obama and I may disagree on aspects of these important fundamentals, but I am convinced, based upon his public pronouncements and his personal writing, that on each of these questions he is not closed to understanding opposing points of view and, as best as it is humanly possible, he will respect and accommodate them.

Conservative Radio Host Michael Smerconish Endorses Obama:

On his talk show on WPHT today, conservative Philadelphian Michael Smerconish endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

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“I’ve decided,” he said. “My conclusion comes after reading the candidates’ memoirs and campaign platforms, attending both party conventions, interviewing both men multiple times, and watching all primary and general election debates.

“John McCain is an honorable man who has served his country well. But he will not get my vote. For the first time since registering as a Republican 28 years ago, I’m voting for a Democrat for president.

“I may have been an appointee in the George H.W. Bush administration, and master of ceremonies for George W. Bush in 2004, but last Saturday I stood amidst the crowd at an Obama event in North Philadelphia,” says the Republican.

Smerconish has given us some more from his op-ed:

“Terrorism. The candidates disagree as to where to prosecute the war against Islamic fundamentalists. Barack Obama is correct in saying the front line in that battle is not Iraq, it’s the Afghan-Pakistan border. Osama bin Laden crossed that border from Tora Bora in December 2001, and we stopped pursuit. The Bush administration outsourced the hunt for bin Laden and, instead, invaded Iraq.

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On the Net: The rise of the Obamacons: A striking number of conservatives are planning to vote for Obama

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