I’m a fan of Colin Powell. The man was historic. One of those guys who exuded the air of a true leader. A man whom I followed – albeit from an incredible distance – when he was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
People die. Famous people. But I’m usually of the “oh, that’s interesting” mind at best when I hear about it. Nothing much more. But Powell’s death a week ago was a bit of a tap in the gut. Like we lost a great man. A man that made a difference. But for me, a man who could have made an even greater difference. I wanted him so much to run for president (when there was talk of such things). I’ve been a fan of outsiders, and Powell was an outsider. He actually had integrity – something I haven’t seen in a presidential candidate since…well, I can’t recall a single one who has ever had much integrity. Varying degrees of shysterism, yes, but none that actually gave me any confidence at all that they would choose the right thing when called upon to do something of consequence.
“But wait!” you may say. “Isn’t this the guy who went before the UN and convinced the world that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction?
Yes. It is. But the more I look back on those days – the more I learned what really (probably) happened – the more I believe he was railroaded as the tool of a corrupt administration…which, it turns out, were really just a bunch of shysters trying (for some reason that you can only guess of the many possible choices) to get their hands on Iraq. Or maybe just to go in like John Wayne in a china shop and wreak havoc in the Middle East.
And here’s where Powell’s integrity as a soldier beat him up. Because when the president asked “are you with me?” he fell in line like a good soldier does and said, “Yessir.” Even with misgivings. And even with the amount of work he put in to get together the evidence to present to the UN. But it was already a foregone conclusion that the “WMD” line was going to be our all-in justification for hitting hard. Powell was fighting a losing battle. And even worse, he was being used. Because no one would believe any of the shysters. So they found one of the few men of integrity among the lot and had him do the dirty work.
Not a fan of these guys, but they’re the perfect demonstration of why Powell wasn’t willing to step up for the job of President. It wasn’t in him to sink that low.
So yeah. We lost a great American last week.
Rest in peace, Colin Powell.