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Colin Powell

13:42 / 16.12.04

There has been talk of Powell for president in 2008. Which party would he run for, (if he runs at all)? If he went Democratic, all the republicans I know would still vote for him. How do you view Powell?

14:10 / 16.12.04

i think he's a joke. he has absolutely zero credibility internationally since he stood before the un and tried to pass of the cia's latest shoddy bit of fiction as absolute honest-from-god truth. all i wish for his future is a quiet retirement and a reasonably uncomfortable death.

14:11 / 16.12.04

switchboard maybe?

14:15 / 16.12.04

Powell is damaged goods, I fear. He has fallen between two stools.

He won't get the support of the Bush machine, because he was insufficiently loyal to the President—and with personal loyalty now more important than patriotism, and with Bush loyalists in charge of the GOP, Powell's going to get the cold shoulder.

The fact of his being a black African-American negro gentleman of color probably sinks his boat, too. Sec'y of State and NSA are appointed positions, remember—I can't shake the feeling that Bush's white Southern base might think Powell "good enough to hire, but not to marry."

And he'll never fly with Democrats because he was too loyal to the President: that stunt at the UN, brandishing chemical vials, the ludicrous claims of mobile chemical-weapons labs—however he may try to distance himself, he got his hands vy. dirty with Bush Administration lies.

An interesting question. I think it would be better served in the Switchboard, though. Moderators?

14:18 / 16.12.04

Oh, and Gumbitch: surely we don't want Powell to die before writing a bitter tell-all memoir?

And as for a best-case scenario for his retirement—well, immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying in the criminal trials of the Bush Administration would be okay...

14:24 / 16.12.04

yeh that sounds fair. i still don't think a reasonably uncomfortable death is unreasonable to ask for though.

14:28 / 16.12.04

He was deeply involved in the attempt to whitewash and cover up the My Lai massacre. He's a part of the Carlyle group. I actually think he has very little integrity, he's just slightly less vile than the real neocons and he wisely supports affirmative action. And he does so because the military's composition today, from top to bottom, is living proof that it works--and, unlike, say, Clarence Thomas, he has enough integrity to know he wouldn't have been able to rise so high without the social imperative to recruit and welcome blacks into an officer track. While he's absolutely right on that issue, that alone doesn't make me have very much more respect for him at this point.

14:33 / 16.12.04

I think it's worth pointing out that he would never run. Not only has he said so himself, but he came off as extremely uncomfortable with his position as Secretary of State much of the time. I'd be surprised if he takes any of kind of leadership role in government in the future.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

15:32 / 16.12.04

Put in for a move to Switchboard.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

15:36 / 16.12.04

Is his 'I don't want to be President' stance genuine, or a calculated ploy to win him support at a future date on a 'my friends have persuaded me to run' ticket?

16:02 / 16.12.04

Is his 'I don't want to be President' stance genuine, or a calculated ploy to win him support at a future date on a 'my friends have persuaded me to run' ticket?

apparently, his wife threatened to leave him if he ran in 2000, because she feared (probably with some justification) that some racist would pop him if he won.

i agree with Jack Fear in that i think his moment has passed. the past four years have damaged him beyond repair with both parties.

in any case, even in 2000, i don't think he would have gotten the nomination of either party with the way primaries are scheduled, with Super Tuesday essentially being the Southern veto on Presidential candidates and Powell being black and all.

if he had resigned in protest and changed party affiliations instead of going to the UN for Bush, he probably could have won this past election despite being black.

17:16 / 17.12.04

If McCain split from a radicalized Republican party, Powell would make an OK running mate (although there are probably better ones).

That sounds really fanciful, but have you seen the knives out for Rumsfeld lately? And if Bush keeps HIM around, other cracks will start to appear....

23:26 / 17.12.04

I see a lot of reasons for Rumsfeld having to resign, but very little clamour for it either from the media or from within the GOP. Am I missing something? Where abouts are you hearing reports of knives coming out for Rummy coming from?

01:37 / 18.12.04

From McCain and Trent Lott if NPR and other news sources are to be believed.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

09:29 / 18.12.04

Republicans and neo-cons call for 'arrogant' Rumsfeld to quit.

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

17:15 / 20.12.04

Powell will never run for office. He barely became a Republican back in the mid 90's, and his people have done a great job of leaking that he is uncomfortable with the party, their decisions, and the like. His wife is supposedly very much against him holding office, and he is committed to his charity, which does do good work.

For all of the talk of Republicans ruling the roost for the forseeable future, they haven't done a good job of coming up with credible national candidates or rising stars other than Bush...so they will probably go to the well once again in 2008, and Jeb will run. He's the one the Party wanted in 2000 anyway.

20:01 / 20.12.04

*putting on extreme paranoia hat*

Assuming that there isn't another convenient attack, resulting in a "temporary" national crisis and suspension of all elections.

*keeping hat on*

01:40 / 22.12.04

That sounds really fanciful, but have you seen the knives out for Rumsfeld lately? And if Bush keeps HIM around, other cracks will start to appear....

this seems to me to be a combination of Senate Republicans distancing themselves from Rumsfeld himself and taking an opportunity to put Bush on notice that they're not going to be his rubber stamp. there's a growing rebellion among fiscal conservatives over the deficit, some unease with the administration's anti-states'-rights positions and civil liberties issues, and wariness about becoming Karl Rove's bitches.

11:59 / 03.01.05

Powell rules out any puture political career, disappointing no one: also says he has no plans to write a book, fooling no one.

Grendel's Mother

02:09 / 23.01.05

And in addition to his being in favor of affirmative action, he is also pro-choice. No pro-choice candidate can win the Republican nomination, no matter how good of a soldier she/he may have been in the past.