WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney said on Sunday that he preferred Rush Limbaugh’s brand of conservatism to former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell’s, saying Mr. Powell had abandoned the Republican Party when he endorsed Barack Obama for president last year.

“Well, if I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I’d go with Rush Limbaugh, I think,” Mr. Cheney said in an interview on “Face the Nation” on CBS. “I think my take on it was Colin had already left the party. I didn’t know he was still a Republican.”

Mr. Cheney said he “assumed” Mr. Powell’s support of Mr. Obama over Senator John McCain was “an indication of his loyalty and his interest.” The endorsement, in a carefully timed and deliberate statement after Mr. McCain chose Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate in a move to fire up the party’s conservative base, helped solidify Mr. Obama’s campaign.

Mr. Powell, a retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, identified himself as a Republican only after retiring from the military. Last week, Mr. Powell said the Republican Party was in “deep trouble” and needed to find a way back to the middle of the political spectrum and away from polarizing leaders like Mr. Limbaugh and Ms. Palin.

His view, if not a new one, came after Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania switched to the Democratic Party and as Republicans debated where the heart of the party lay. In response, Mr. Limbaugh suggested that the moderate Mr. Powell should leave the party.

“What Colin Powell needs to do is close the loop and become a Democrat, instead of claiming – READ MORE…