I understand that scruples are not high on the list for politicians. But the fact that Barack Obama is not going to repudiate Colin Powell's endorsement of him demonstrates once and for all that Senator Obama is completely lacking in any integrity whatsoever. Barack Obama is running a campaign that disclaims all things Bush, even as he uses Bush's tactics to win office. Now, he has accepted the endorsement of a man who made possible the Iraq War, providing Bush with an imprimatur of international legitimacy. But accepting an endorsement from Colin Powell is even more problematic. Colin Powell's political life displays a pattern of doing or saying whatever is expedient without regard for human rights or civil rights. My own dismay regarding Mr. Powell started when he brokered the "don't ask, don't tell" policy which in many ways provided gays in the military an option worse than pure exclusion. Here is a letter from the New York Times, from 2000, which makes the point eloquently:

Powell, Up First for the Bush Team

To the Editor: Colin L. Powell (front page, Dec. 17) is not a hero to all Americans. In 1993, when he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he had a historic opportunity to ensure equality for everyone who serves in the military by endorsing President Clinton's original proposal to allow gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military. General Powell could have shown real courage by emulating Harry S. Truman, whose decision to force the military to integrate its black and white regiments ultimately made it possible for General Powell to become the highest-ranking American in uniform. Instead, the general allied himself with Congressional conservatives; together, they forced Mr. Clinton to accept the inequitable and unworkable policy of ''don't ask, don't tell.'' CHARLES KAISER New York, Dec. 17, 2000