Richard Cohen of the Washington Post Writers Group wrote an interesting take on Colin Powell and his resignation from his position as Bush's Secretary of State. Lots of folks are disappointed -- but not necessarily surprised -- with Powell's course of action. But Cohen here, after relating Powell to the beleagured MacBeth rather than Hamlet, writes:
The pity is not that Powell has resigned as secretary of state. The pity is that he did not do so quickly.He comes to this conclusion because Powell, who did disagree frequently with his colleagues in Bush's administration -- and with President Bush himself -- did nothing significant about it. I can agree with him to a point. I am disappointed in Powell's performance in the State Department (but such disappointment is less than that which I feel for the Bush administration as a whole). I'm afraid now that a potentially great moderate voice will fade into history.
See also Powell Valediction, an examination of why Powell resigned and how he will be remembered [at Foreign Policy].
Note: You know, prior to the Republican National Convention, I was truly hoping that Bush would move Cheney to a different position (such as the spy czar position that was given to Porter Goss) and then move Powell in as his new Veep for the second go around. I think the election would have been a non-event largely in favor of such a Republican ticket because Powell would have pulled more moderates to it -- including Democrats who just could not rally behind Kerry. I know I would have voted for a Bush-Powell ticket over the Kerry-Edwards one. What do you think?
Not that it matters now, but, hey, I'm curious.
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