March 30, 2004
The Shame of Colin Powell
A detailed and devastating account of Colin Powell's place in the Bush administration from the new American Prospect:
Misoverestimated by Michael Steinberger
I must admit I haven't really thought about Powell as other than a ham-strung tragic figure, but the Powell this article paints is something else entirely - a man without ideals or ideas, operating in a void of principle and providing loyal service to an incompetent administration.
Via Alterman
I have always thought that Collin was nothing more than a token. And some what of a House Nigg3r.
Always seems to go along with what Bush or Ashcroft wants. F'EM
I agree that he's a token, but not because he's black. He was the moderate foreign policy face during the 2000 election.
manny you should not use terms like that
By chance, I just saw Powell talking with some German students, surrounded by a crowd of journalists. Although I admire his patience when it comes to events like this (he obviously wasn't having any fun), I'm really amazed by how much I despise him and how genuinely painful it is to watch him.
Somehow, guys like Rumsfeld and Pearle are far more palatable--despite their ridiculous arrogance they are open, human, and seem to believe what they are saying. Powell, by contrast, is an overrated burocratic pug, who will go down in history as a coward. Everything he says seems forced.
Scott, I've never thought of him that way before now, but as I said the article aims to paint him as such. At what point did this become your view on Powell?
And Manny, just because you're saying what everyone else is thinking doesn't mean you should say it.
I'm not saying that Powell is always a bad guy--he makes a lot of useful statements about various international problems, but I have genuinely come to hate him anyway. Atrios and D-Kos have been debunking the 'Powell as the token good guy' meme as long as I have been reading them. The day of reckoning for me was when I read an account debunking Powell's legendary UN testimony as partly exaggeration, partly fabrication, and partly incompetence. Unfortunately I can't find seem to find the link I'm thinking of, which obviously undermines my credibility.....
Basically, reading just how completely foolish the testimony was, and how the media bought it simply because it came from Powell...that was a point of no return for me. The hate began to fester and has never looked back. I'm just so sick of how he endlessly repeats talking points and his oh so articulate self-righteousness, tinged with a measure anger at all those idiots who call him on his bullshit.
The whole fiasco brings home that the various departments of the American government cannot be depended on to think independent of government policy or even maintain thier integrity. An international review of the evidence and internatonal consensus seems practically the only means ordinary people have to judge whether they can trust the government.