I am no giant Colin Powell fan, but he is still a quintessential organization man, and a man of ability. While an all too blind loyalty to the armed services is one of his faults, he is still an independent thinker, and a man almost born to lead. And one of great virtues is a sense of personal integrity and an ability to talk to all sides. He and someone like John Bolten are almost polar opposites because Powell does not pull rank, lecture, punish, or seek to impose his views on others.
What GWB did to Colin Powell, is IMHO, shameless, and I believe that for too long, Colibn Powell believed the cherry picked intel fed to him, simply because he could not believe that people like Rumsfeld and Cheney would lie. And yes, Colin Powell made a fool out of himself at the UN, as a dupe in the run up to the war. But when he learned that he was lied to, he had the integrity to correct it and went on record. And yes, GWB basically fired Powell on the principle that one good apple could spoil a whole bushel of rotten ones.
And Powell took his lumps silently, while his aide, Col. Wilkerson, roundly denounced John Bolten and prevented his confirmation as UN Ambassador, the facts emerged that Colin Powell had been defending his people in the State department from being bullied.
So a Colin Powell endorsement means something to me, and regardless of an Obama endorsement, I had hoped that the next President will use the talents of Colin Powell in his next administration. Regardless if its a Cabinet position or as a roving troubleshooter, Colin Powell has a lot of the right stuff, and deserves a chance to go out on top. At 71 years old, he also deserves all the rocking chair time he wants, but Colin has sent the signal, I still want to contribute. If I could advise our next President, I would recommend letting Powell pick the problems he wants to work on, and go from there.
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