Alas! She is no more.

Somehow, I knew you'd like her Ignacio.

No, I was just joking. She was a communist leader and I am no longer commy. :p

Dr. Rice will do ok with that job. When I think back aobut some of the spinless jerks we have had in that office she looks very good. Does anyone remember Dean Rusk??? Or Warren Christopher??

Well, let's just see how well Condi works out for us. If recent history is our guide, I'm not too optimistic. Quoting from the NYTimes (yeah, yeah, they have a "liberal bias"):

"She and Mr. Bush developed a remarkable bond, and he made her his national security adviser. Which was a problem. Because all the evidence shows she wasn't very good at the job.

Ms. Rice's domain was the filter through which an awful lot of mangled and misshapen intelligence made its way to the president and the American people. She either believed the nonsense she was spouting about mushroom clouds, or she deliberately misled her president and the nation on matters that would eventually lead to the deaths of thousands.

Secretary Powell's close friend and deputy at the State Department, Richard Armitage, viewed Ms. Rice's operation with contempt. In his book "Plan of Attack," Bob Woodward said Mr. Armitage "believed that the foreign-policy-making system that was supposed to be coordinated by Rice was essentially dysfunctional."

In October 2003, the president, frustrated by setbacks in Iraq, put Ms. Rice in charge of his Iraq Stabilization Group, which gave her the responsibility for overseeing the effort to quell the violence and begin the reconstruction in Iraq.

We see from recent headlines how well that has worked out."

Sure hope Bush keeps reading his Bible. Pride goes before a fall....

Without it being stated outright, it appears that the biggest rub Powell had in the White House was Rumsfeld. I'm afraid I don't like him, don't trust him, and think he's an imbecile when it comes to diplomacy.

Bush could have chosen Powell over Rummy, but he didn't, and that is exactly the issue that bothered me before the election. I still believe that Powell was the best person Bush had on staff, and he failed to listen to him when he probably should have.

Apparently Bush just accepted Powell's resignation, without even trying to talk him into staying. That's not exactly what I would have hoped for from the President.

Wolf

Wolf: I think you are right Powell's leaving has more to do with Rummy than job dissatifaction. Like you I would have gotten rid of Rummy a long time ago. I think that the last Sec of Def that was as bad as Rummy was Robert MacNamara. I don't know if you ever listen to the shortwave or not, but you should hear what David Hackworth has to say about Rummy. Bo Gritz does not sugar coat his opinions either.

Dbl D,

Good point on Hackworth. I knew a bit about him, but hadn't kept up with his commentary. Thanks for reminding me.

Here's a link to those who are interested on Hackworth's views.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/08/04/hackworth/index_np.html

Rummy and his cohorts did a real hatchet job on Hackworth after his original TV comments weren't painting the rosy picture that Rummy wanted people to "obediently believe."

It's a damned shame that Bush let Rummy become so influential in these issues, and failed to heed the warnings that Hackworth and Powell addressed early on. He would have seen things a bit differently, and might have made some better choices.

Wolf

Don't suppose Powell's departure has anything to do with any of the following?

He is 67,
He never really wanted to be in public life,
His wife really, really didn't want him in public life,
He has held a really stressful job for four years,
He can make a lot more money in private life,
He can avoid reporters in private life,
He (fill in the blanks)???

This is a guy who could have easily been Vice President, and probably had a real chance at President, but he did not want either job.

ernie

Ebetancourt,

Then you're saying that Powell is a liar, because he's alluded to the fact that the differences between him and Rummy had a lot to do with his leaving?

I think he would have stayed if Bush would have heeded his counsel over Rummy's, despite what people may suggest.

White-washing the Rummy/Powell dissension to make it look like he was leaving anyway doesn't work. Powell has already blown that hypothesis out of the water.

Wolf