Colin Powell Resigns

[Elwood Blues]

Originally posted by CarolA
Secretary Rice?? Sorry, but regardless of how you think about Bush the Sec State needs to be someone who will be considered "worthy" by our allies and even our enimies. Ms. Rice is just not going to carry that weight. She will just be seen as a Bush puppet with no real power of her own.

(Not that W asked my thoughts LOL!)

Why do you think that?

 

[Teejay32]

from decentity's link:

Mr Scheuer, who has written two books anonymously, said he finally decided to leave the CIA after being told to stop publicising his worries about policy failings.

LOL. As it is, some of us need help figuring out what the CIA actually does...now we know.


I like Condoleezza, but it seems like a waste putting her in the State Department.

 

[Galahad]

Originally posted by CarolA
Secretary Rice?? Sorry, but regardless of how you think about Bush the Sec State needs to be someone who will be considered "worthy" by our allies and even our enimies. Ms. Rice is just not going to carry that weight. She will just be seen as a Bush puppet with no real power of her own.

(Not that W asked my thoughts LOL!)

I didn't realize that a Secretary of State was suppose to have power of their own. Secretary Powell did not implement his own foreign policy, he implemented the President's.

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by Galahad
I didn't realize that a Secretary of State was suppose to have power of their own. Secretary Powell did not implement his own foreign policy, he implemented the President's.

Exactly, and there will be no doubt that when she speaks she will be speaking for the president, which will be her job. She is a highly accomplished woman who achieved very early in her life. She is well spoken and very intelligent. It seems that those who are questioning Condi Rice's gravitas were satisfied with Madelyn Albryght. Go figure! Furthermore, she was an excellent provost at Stamford University and came at a time when they were having major managerial problems. She excelled in that position and solved many of those problems. She will have her job cut out for her managing the staff at the State Dept. but I have no doubt that she is up to the task.

 

[Galahad]

She is a highly accomplished woman who achieved very early in her life.

Not only that....she plays a mean Rachmaninov 2nd Concerto...

 

[Rokkitsci]

Originally posted by CarolA
Secretary Rice?? Sorry, but regardless of how you think about Bush the Sec State needs to be someone who will be considered "worthy" by our allies and even our enimies. Ms. Rice is just not going to carry that weight. She will just be seen as a Bush puppet with no real power of her own.

(Not that W asked my thoughts LOL!)

THis is a strange notion.

The entire cabinet is supposed to be speaking for the president. If they have differences of opinion, they should keep that for discussion private with him. They should try to convince the president of what to do - and if they fail, they should stay with the president's decision.

If any cabinet official finds the president's agenda something that they cannot in good faith support, then their only honorable alternative is to resign.

Working against the president from the inside is dishonorable.

To Powell's credit, he publicly supported Bush's decisions, all the while being in personal disagreement with some of them. This is to be expected. No two people agree on everything.

A president succeeds or fails to the extent that he surrounds himself with people whose opinions he values and whose loyalty he trusts. This is the best thing about Bush. He has genuinely competent people in his cabinets. He listens to their advice and then makes the final decision.

They carry out the directives. This is the essence of good leadership.

Was Warren Christopher considered "worthy" by our enemies?? Was Madeline Albright??

As an American citizen, I sure did not consider them 'worthy' = I thought they were the worst we had ever had.

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by Galahad
Not only that....she plays a mean Rachmaninov 2nd Concerto...

And she can watch three football games and follow all of the plays at the same time.

 

[Teejay32]

The Boston Globe has gone off the deep end over this. Lead editorial:

Exit Powell

Colin Powell's role within the Bush administration was that of the loyal opposition. In a crew of blinkered unilateralists, the outgoing secretary of state functioned as a lonely devotee of what has been the mainstream internationalist tradition in US foreign policy since 1945.

The disasters wrought by President Bush and advisers such as Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would likely have been even worse if not for Powell's presence. Although his soldier's notion of loyalty kept him from airing his dissent in public, Powell remained until yesterday's announcement of his departure a steadfast advocate of the old diplomatic virtues that Cheney, Rumsfeld, and company disdained.

It goes on for five more paragraphs.

 

[dmadman43]

Originally posted by DawnCt1
And she can watch three football games and follow all of the plays at the same time.

She has gone on record as saying that if the NFL Commisioner job ever became available, she would resign to take that job.

Wasn't she at Stanford, not Stamford. (might have been a typo, but there is a considereble difference )

Does anyone really think Joe Biden would not have implemented the "global test" policy if Kerry were elected? CarolIA, your argument is just silly and ill-informed.

 

[Teejay32]

I wish I thought it was silly, but I don't...if the powers that be portray her as a Bush puppet, unfit or ill-equipped for the job, then that's what people will see. They'll form those impressions from our own media.

Give them some old male career beaurocrat (not meaning Powell)who has no opinions of his own, and parrots lead stories from al-Jazeera, and they'll sing his praises.

[/disgusted]

 

[Mickey_loves_Minnie]

I think Condoleeza Rice will be okay as Secretary of State. Frankly, I prefer her in that position than as Secretary of Defense, as some have conjectured. As for her potential relationships with other countries, I think she’ll be fine in that diplomatic role. My real concern is that she may be too loyal to Bush and won’t question him. I don’t think Bush has enough people in his cabinet who disagree with him.

Just my opinion. No facts to back it up.