Grownup Republican Watch: Colin Powell

Colin Powell joins the shrill, and adds his blunt opinion of the Bush administation clown show to the chorus as he says exactly what he thinks of Bush acolyte John Bolton:

Joshua Micah Marshall Reports:

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: April 17, 2005 - April 23, 2005 Archives: [T]he former Secretary of State (and Bolton's boss in the first administration) has been doing what amounts to behind-the-scenes lobbying against Bolton's nomination.... Powell is very much not the only Republican foreign policy heavyweight working in private to scuttle Bolton's nomination. But the degree to which he's going public is sort of extraordinary.... Powell did authorize his spokesperson to confirm on the record that he has had recent phone conversations with Sens. Chafee and Hagel about Bolton while quite pointedly giving no reason to think much of anything he said was positive.... The foothold Bolton's supporters have in this fight is their contention that the only reason Bolton's in trouble is that Democrats are trying to take him down to score political points. Indeed, President Bush made that argument just yesterday. But Powells now-public lobbying knocks that argument right out of the park. Republican senators looking to deny the White House this nomination need some partisan cover; and Powell just gave it to them.

Comments

[frank emesis]

now he decides to grow a pair?

[Matthew Saroff]

Nope. Colin has no balls.

He's not an adult either.

My Lai Powell waited until it became inevitable, then quietly took his show on the road to imply that he has integrity.

[Ottnott]

Where was Powell before Bolton's nomination ran into trouble?

Hell, where was Powell when Bolton was frothing like a mad dog to intimidate intelligence agencies into providing almost credible excuses to initiate a preemptive war with a toothless enemy?

Powell may be grown up, but he acts like a dog cowed by fear of a tug at the leash on his neck. Harsh, yes. I'm a looooong way from forgiving him for his performance in front of the U.N.

[Auros]

This is a minor point, but take a look at the background photo in the WP article on this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7420-2005Apr21.html

Note the projection on the wall behind bush: "Trusted Choice®"

Is it common practice for the government to register trademarks on policy initiatives?

[pgl]

Ottnott - Josh later notes what you said. Powell is more the follower than the leader of the GOP grownups here.

[fgc]

Re: Note the projection on the wall behind bush: "Trusted Choice®"

Not to defend the Shrub, but...

Couldn't it be just a sponsor for the event Arbusto was talking
at? There's at least one insurance company with that name

[Barkley Rosser]

Probably a waste of time defending Powell on this one, but it is pretty clear that Bolton was the Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz et al man inside the Powell State Department, fighting him all the way. This is Powell's revenge, finally. The first hit by Bolton goes all the way back to March, 2001, when South Korean President Kim Dae Jung visited Washington. Powell announced a continuation of Clinton policy. Largely at the behest of Cheney and Bolton, Bush sandbagged that at the last minute, publicly humiliating Nobel Peace Prize winner and former tortured dissident, Kim, along with Powell, and by many accounts triggering the now extremely negative view of the US held widely in South Korea. This was one of the single stupidest actions in foreign policy made by Bush in his entire presidency. These clowns were going to overthrow Kim Jong IL in North Korea and stop the North Korean nuclear program. Massive incompetence.

[Maynard Handley]

Come on, this is just Powell trying to whitewash his role in history.

He's been travelling around the country for the last few months trying to convince people that it wasn't his fault that the Bush foreign policy was so out of control (apparently it was his evil twin who stood up at the UN and showed photos he claimed were Iraqi WMD silos).

Just like Greenspan ("I was misunderstood about tax cuts in 2001, [but just to be quite clear, I won't condemn the estate tax repeal]") he can see how this is all going to end badly and is trying to limit the extent to which he is blamed.
What amazes me is that someone as smart and (apparently) politically savvy as you, Brad, is falling for both of their lines. These guys screwed up big time, betrayed public trust, and deserve to be reminded of what a-holes they are for the rest of their lives.

[Auros]

FGC: That's a defense of him? Isn't the President of the United States supposed to be a bit more dignified than appearing as a product sponsor? What next, the President appearing in front of a giant Nike swoosh?

[Fernando J. Rodriguez]

Colin Powell is a disgrace. Finally, he speaks up against George, but it is too late. Even during the first Gulf War, I thought to myself, "Why is everyone in the media falling all over themselves when praising Powell? If was a real general, he would have been on the ground in Baghdad. Instead, he and Schwartzkopf were sipping cocktails in the air-conditioned walls of the Oval Office and Pentagon. Those bastards were 6,000 miles from the action. Disgraceful!!" Look at our modern generals (WWII), such as Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, George Patton, MacArthur, etc. These men actually braved the elements and stayed in the fox holes with the enlisted men. They could have been blown to shreds. Not much chance of that happening when you are nowhere near the action.

Powell was a p***y then, he affirmed that status in front of the U.N., and he has done little to change this since.