RateItAll: The Opinion Network

Untill the, now proven, lying before the UN as a lacky for W, he comparted himself with dignaty and integrity. Is there any more telling comment about this administration than his departure.

UN speech destroyed his credibility. Otherwise tried to tame the more insane elements of BUsh administration. Wanted to do the right thing, but first and foremost he is a soilder, so he followed the insane Commander in Chief.

UPDATE: I suggest that those of you who portray Powell's speech to the UN as being full of half-truths and faulty information, you might consider reading the speech rather than the snippets and interpretations spewed by the liberal US and European press, I believe you will be surprised. The speech outlined the history of WMD's in Iraq, which we know existed, and Saddam's responsibility to account for their destruction, which he did not provide. It also described in great detail Saddam's relationship with many terrorist operatives, not one of which has been refuted. ORIGINAL COMMENT 11/16/04: All cabinet members, in every successful re-election, tender their resignations to the newly re-elected President as a tradition and a courtesy. The President evaluates each resignation and decides, usually through direct conversation with each cabinet member, who should continue. Powell has not been happy for some time so it is not surprising he will move along. Condi Rice will be an interesting replacement for him as she is much closer and much more loyal to George W. Bush than Powell was. The Department of State is populated by many careerists, who remain as the presidents and cabinet members come and go. There was a distinct rift between the Bush cabinet and the State Department, almost from day one. What may be interesting to watch is whether Condi locks horns and wins the inevitable power plays that lay ahead for her, or if the careerists prevail. Powell has served honorably and it was comforting to have him as the head of State, rather than his laughable predecessor Madeleine Albright, as pretty as her various frumpy hats might have been. I suspect Powell will be offered diplomatic roles by President Bush if he wants to continue and keep his profile up. Something tells me he isn't ready to hang up his cleats.

He's the only one who doesn't suck - and now he's gone.

Could have been great if Bush had listend to him & not some of the War Hawks in the admin...who of course have never been on a battle field. They just like sending other peoples sons & daughters to fight & die!

Update: It was pretty much inevitable that Powell would 'resign' from the administration which has been been purged of most moderate thinkers as the new term commences. He was well aware I am sure that his tenure would be reviewed and he himself might find his own views compromised by ever more hardline policies, which he may see as inappropriate on the world scene. It is a pity that this respected statesman with the best advice was the one ignored by the hawks since it messed with their 'programme.'

Never liked this guy. Not a straight shooter.

Quit because he was a sane person that felt that the Iraq war is a sham and/or is presently being mishandled. That kind of rational thinking can get you fired in some places in America. I liked him up until he marched into the U.N. and lied about all the weapons that actually weren't there. It was a shame to watch Powell lie on a world stage. Our foreign policy has been set back 10 years. God help us all.

I thought Mr. Powell did a great job as Secretary of State and I'm sad to see him go. He unfortunately will be remembered for his speech to the United Nations when he basically guaranteed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and as we all know they have yet to be found. But he was an excellent statesman and should be commended for his efforts.

Powell definitely had the ability to be a great Secretary of State, but circumstances deem him a somewhat lower rating. He was a solid diplomat, one who thrived on developing personal relationships and coming to a consensus on critical issues with foreign counterparts. However as I've pointed out before, Powell was significantly outgunned in this adminstration by the neo-conservatives like Cheney and the civilian corps down at the Defense Department, who had the ear of NSC Chief Condoleeza Rice who in turn had the ear of the President. Bush never really trusted Powell, considering his popularity as a sign of independent standing away from the Administration. Rice as Secretary of State will never have the standing that Powell did in the international community. However, he did lose some very big battles, among them the decision to invade Iraq, which he was very wary about. Some say he should have resigned at that point, but he realiized that his legacy would have been damaged. Most importantly, he knew that an invasion was inevitable, and such an action by a credible figure like Powell would have hurt the US's image more so than if the operation proved to be a failure or even if it's justification was proven to be false. But besides that, Powell did a stand up job at State, he did well with what he was given. Within the department, he was the most popular secretary in decades, even considering the fact that their diplomatic work was constantly being undermined by the Administration. He used the department's well honed expert civil service with efficiency, thus distingushing himself from other recent Secretaries. However there was a disconnect between the careerists at State and the neo-conservatives who dominate the Bush Administration. Powell was a popular figure, but his big problem is that he couldn't transfer that into acutal influence on major policy decisions. Rice's ascension to the job represents Bush's attempt to take over policy making at state by marginalizing the civil service at the State department, who are known for their objective analysis of foreign policy issues.

Powell has now resigned from this administration, no doubt at the request of many in power who have promised him it would be best for the future of the country and the success of the polocies of the Bush administration. Powell was one of only a few who were free thinkers in the Bush cabnit who were willing to advise the president and argue with an abusive and overbearing VP who was responsible for forcing the success most of the polocies of the administration. Although Powell was not a Great Sec. of State , look at the administrations'polocies and proceedures he was attempting to pass off as good goverenence for the future of the world. He (Powell will be the only member of the Bush cabinit to be remembered as a reasonable , honest man whos primary goal was to serve the United States in this very highly visible role. Powells' replacement, Ms Rice, although quite intelligent is a Bush Yes Woman who has learned that in this administration, independent thought is best kept to ones self. Ms. Rice will never be heard speaking in any way less than totally congruant to those of the administration. In retrospect, Sec. of State is just the position for someone like Ms. Rice.

I'll be sad to see him go but feel Condi Rice is an excellent and well qualified person to fill his shoes.

Secretary of State Colin Powell's tenure will be most remembered for his impassioned pitch in favor of the Iraq war to the United Nations. Powell used every ounce of his credibility to outline all sorts of details about Iraq's weapons capability - including convincing specifics regarding mobile weapons labs and possible locations of the weapons. Powell made it sound that all of these claims were backed up by reliable intelligence. This did not prove to be the case. I don't really know if Powell believed the stuff that he said that day or not. He may have just been preaching the party line. He may have been caught up in the war momentum. Or, like the rest of us, he just may have heard about Weapons of Mass Destruction so many times that it just started to sound true. Whatever the case, Powell lost on that day. Whether he was deliberately misleading the world to please his boss, or simply jumped to reckless slam dunk conclusions on information that in retrospect, was anything but conclusive - the bottom line remains the same. He bet his career and his credibility on a bogus case for war. And he lost.

Just heard he quit to bad as he was over qualified for the job. He is a great diplomat but not a great politician which in my book is a huge compliment. Due to the fact that he is a great leader, I would imagine, we will never see him in politics again.

Made a fool of himself with incontrovertable evidence that turned out to be completely false and contrived.

Him and his state department continually pushed for dialog at the UN when the hawks knew the game had already been bought and purchased. Bush wasted valuable time and political capital going for the last resolution. That was all Powell's fault. What has Powell actually succeeded at doing? Lybia gave up its weapons because then didn't want to end up being next on the Bush hit list. The successes in Pakistan were more of Rice's doing than his. So what has he accomplished. I hope he resigns after Bush is reelected.

Pretty much the best of the remaining Bush/Cheney gang. As such he merits a 3.

I have met Colin Powell and he is a good person, very kind, intelligent and charitable. He spoke against the war and warned Rumsfeld repeatedly about the conditions and quantity of prisoners in Iraq. His weakness in my eyes is in being too loyal of a soldier and not taking a strong enough stand on his true beliefs. He has been marginalized out of this administration although he is the most respected. I guarentee he will not be on board for all of Bush Term2. He was the only voice of reason. The future will tell us that Bush should have listened to him and not Rumsfeld/Cheney

Colin Powell's true potential has not been realized; whether it is of his own doing or due to other factors, I'm not sure. He does appear to have been marginalized by the administration, or by the course of events. If indeed he is doing his job as SecState, and is managing to do anything effective behind the scenes, we should see or hear from him more often.

A major disappointment and one who operates as King George's inept messenger boy. Remember his performance before the U.N.?

its about oil

He may be the only truly honest member of this administration. He is often caught between a rock and a hard headed idiot (Bush), and will change his story or views when pressured. He should stay the course with his opinions. Like Condi, he is on the wrong side.

Colin Powell is a sad case. I look forward to reading his expose of the Bush Presidency in about 10 years.

Could anyone beat him if he ran for President? I don't think so. Colin Powell is a great person, and could be doing so much more.