(Community Matters) Colin Powell may have once been among the most trusted and honored men in our country. Difficult to watch him today.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday praised Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens’ sense of honor at his trial on corruption charges, calling his reputation for honesty and integrity “sterling” in the quarter-century they’ve known each other. “As we say in the infantry, this is a guy you take on a long patrol,” said the retired four-star Army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
I sometimes wonder how they convinced General Powell to so dishonor his reputation with his misleading testimony to the UN on WMD. No idea if there is a real connection but twice when trying to understand the General’s public positions – which seemed inconsistent with his history of courage, truthfulness and principle – thoughts of protecting his family have come to mind. During the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell chaos of Clinton’s first 100 days, I felt he might be protecting the privacy of his lesbian daughter. During his tenure as Bush’s Secretary of State, whenever he didn’t speak out and against the administration, I wondered if he was protecting his son, then Bush appointee and Chair of the FCC.
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