Gen. Colin Powell‘s endorsement of Barack Obama this morning — “a seal of approval [by] the most important military figure of the age,” a Meet the Press commentator stated — will almost certainly increase Obama’s poll ratings with conservative over-55s and fortify the general movement in Obama’s direction.

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborugh said this morning that the race is going to tighten up by the end. “We’re not a 60-40 nation,” he said. “We’re a 51-49 nation.”