Really, you need only read the title to understand where he's coming from:

"Vote for Obama. McCain lacks the character and temperament to be President. And Palin is simply a disgrace".

The thrust of his endorsement rests on four core arguments that are surprisingly blunt given Hitchen's predilection for nuance.

1) McCain is mean and power-hungry. He has forfeited the contest of ideas.

2) McCain is old and senile as evidenced by his performance in the debates.

3) Sarah Palin lacks the scruples and intellect to hold high office. She is a disqualifier for McCain.

4) Obama is not a great choice, but he is the only viable candidate in this race.

Here is the most devastating passage:

The most insulting thing that a politician can do is to compel you to ask yourself: "What does he take me for?" Precisely this question is provoked by the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin. I wrote not long ago that it was not right to condescend to her just because of her provincial roots or her piety, let alone her slight flirtatiousness, but really her conduct since then has been a national disgrace. It turns out that none of her early claims to political courage was founded in fact, and it further turns out that some of the untested rumors about her—her vindictiveness in local quarrels, her bizarre religious and political affiliations—were very well-founded, indeed. Moreover, given the nasty and lowly task of stirring up the whack-job fringe of the party's right wing and of recycling patent falsehoods about Obama's position on Afghanistan, she has drawn upon the only talent that she apparently possesses.

It therefore seems to me that the Republican Party has invited not just defeat but discredit this year, and that both its nominees for the highest offices in the land should be decisively repudiated, along with any senators, congressmen, and governors who endorse them.

Again, it is worth reading in its entirety. Hitch is one of an ever growing list of prominent conservatives that have acknowledged the unacceptable state of the GOP and chosen to back the democrats this year for good of country (I wonder if old pal Chris Buckley influenced him?).

Ever since our favorite troll posted that nonsense about some PUMA socialite nobody's ever heard of I've been compiling the list of real conservative defections and updating as the names of these patriots roll in.

Just let me know if you want me to add your name, Ken. We're an open party.