Steve Benen:

So, on the one hand, we have the McCain campaign and its cohorts working assiduously to convince voters that Obama is terrorist-sympathizing Marxist. On the other, we have Obama getting endorsements from Ronald Reagan’s national security advisor, solicitor general, and White House chief of staff.

And Duberstein joins, of course, former Sen. Larry Pressler, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Gov. William Weld, former Gov. Arne Carlson, Charles Fried, Scott McClellan , and Ken Adelman as notable Republicans who’ve announced their support for Obama over the last couple of weeks.

I doubt this will affect the McCain campaign’s smear efforts, but for those paying even a little attention, it’s tough to characterize Obama as a radical leftist when high-profile Republicans — including top officials from Reagan’s White House — keep announcing their support for him.