Not in the least surprising. And I think this one is mutual -- Powell's had it with fighting uphill for the past four years, and Bush has had it with a SecState who is too politically popular to fire but doesn't share his world vision.
I'd have to say voluntary as all signs point to him being ready to get the hell out of Dodge. I don't think they'd force him out as he is the only member of the administration widely accepted. But then again, that's mirror imaging as rational thought does not play with this admin. So, I'd say mostly Powell was ready to leave, and Cheney, et. al are happy to see him go. Also, let's engage in the typical BS.com speculation. I'd say it's even between Danforth and Rice.
Are you sure that's not a pic of the recently deceased Big Baby Jesus, aka Dirt McGirt, aka ODB? I could only focus on the teeth and that is what makes me ask.
Not even a discussion of Powell's statist, militarist, murderous nature, and how that nature is the moderate side of BushCorp (no longer) can dampen the fact that D.C. United are 4-time champions of Major League Soccer.
Good riddance. Powell was useless as SOS. Get ready for another war-mongerin', crusade-lovin', uber-protestant. Someone to prop up Bush's appeal for both militaristic, raghead hatin', bomb-throwin' democrats and to run-of-the-mill reeeepublikins. Zell Miller, anyone?
If Bush was serious about bridging the political gap in America, he could appoint Biden to the job. But since he only pays lip-service to such ideas, he'll appoint a red-meat Reep and point to Minetta when asked about partisanship.
Bush made Powell a eunuch early on; certainly not Powell's fault. I was just thinking whether Wolfowitz might get the nod.
They're going to need one hell of a firehose to wash away the stench of lies on Mr. Powell now that he's back in the public sector.
Biden would be a good choice if he can keep what goes on in the cabinet to himself. He probably would be a leak. There are many like him in the republican party that can do the job just as good and would not leak info.
I have a feeling that by quitting, he may have taken the first step in that rehabilitation. He also has the Clarke/O'Neill precedent of "What the hell else could I do - no one would listen to me?" and his famous "Pottery Barn Doctrine" to fall back on for credibility. But I agree that he traded in a ton of his personal credibility the day he took the case for war to the UN. A sad day in American history, in retrospect, for so many reasons. He didn't actually convince the UN to completely agree with Bush, succeeded in making the case to a hawkish nation that some of the justifications for the war were real, damaged his own credibility as an individual, damaged his standing as our chief diplomat, inadvertantly (in retrospect) damaged the credibility of the US intelligence community ... anything else? Adlai Stevenson would not be amused.
The US democratic government's current motto: "We work best when you don't know." Transparency does a (citizen) body good.
It's been rumored for quite some time that Powell didn't want to serve more than one term as Secretary of State. The resignations of Powell and several others (Paige, Education; Abrahams, Energy; Veneman, Agriculture) are expected to be announced today. That means six out of fifteen cabinet posts will change so far.
No suprises here. Powell was saying way back when he was named SoS that he'd probably only do one term anyway. The last four years just made keeping that promise a lot easier I'm sure. God, I shudder to think who'll get the nod. Sure the administration must nominate someone with some gravitas and credibility if only to avoid being literally laughed out of town in most countries. I've heard the name of U.N. Abassador, John Danforth. That's a typical gong for the UN guy. Problem is Danforth has like, three years' foreign policy experience.
Holy crap, it's going to be Condi, according to CNN. I can't believe it -- this is like Bora getting to coach the Nats again.
Remember back in the day when she was given the job of coordinating Iraq policy? I guess her catastrophic success deserves a promotion.
Powell was terrible. What a disappointment. He allowed State to be run over by the DOD. If he had an ounce of credibility as the centrist independent voice that was his tagline when named Secretary of State, he would have resigned two years ago, rather than carry Bush's water to the UN. Powell's role was absolutely central in bringing stifling opposition viewpoints and shoring up US public opinion for the pointless and politically naive Iraq war. He is as responsible as Rumsfeld or Cheney or Bush, maybe more so. That will be his one legacy. Thanks for nothing, Colin.
Just another step on the road to "Condoleeza" entering our vernacular as the female equivalent of "Uncle Tom".