I leveled withering criticism at Tom Cole two years ago for what I thought were some seriously wrong decisions while chairing the NRCC, but I may have to take it all back.

He just endorsed Doug Hoffman.

Yeah, you read that right — Rep. Tom Cole, the former head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, just endorsed Hoffman over the establishment GOP’s pick.

Well done, sir. Now I feel guilty for being so harsh two years ago.

More here:

In his endorsement letter, Cole called Hoffman “the only Republican who can win this special election.” Democrats seem to be coming around to that viewpoint, too, shifting their fire from Scozzafava to Hoffman in the latest Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ad, and seeking to fundraise off the possibility that he could be elected to Congress.

Cole, who is a member of the Republican Steering Committee, wrote that Hoffman “clearly represents the mainstream values and positions of the Republican Party.” He declined to directly criticize Scozzafava, the subject of countless attacks from the right for her moderate record in the state Assembly, but ticked off a number of issue areas where she and Hoffman diverge. “He opposes the stimulus, cap and trade, card check, the Democratic health care bill and the Obama administration’s reckless spending binge. He is a pro-life fiscal conservative who is committed to restraining the growth of government,” Cole wrote.

That’s just made of awesome.