Lone Bush holdover reflects on gravity of his 'painful' job

[OrangeEmpire]

Lone Bush holdover reflects on gravity of his 'painful' job - CNN.com

Thoughts?

He gets it.......

:hi:

 

[DC Vol]

I know a lot of the people I had spoken with had iterated that Gates was far less caustic than Rumsfeld was.

 

[volinbham]

A couple observations:

1. It's probably better to have people like Gates who reluctantly serve out of a sense of duty rather than desire for power.

2. Interesting that the article mentions 2 roles for Gates envisioned by Bush to change directions in Iraq. I thought the mantra was that he refused to change strategy. Damn those talking points.

 

[rjd970]

A couple observations:

1. It's probably better to have people like Gates who reluctantly serve out of a sense of duty rather than desire for power.

2. Interesting that the article mentions 2 roles for Gates envisioned by Bush to change directions in Iraq. I thought the mantra was that he refused to change strategy. Damn those talking points.

I think Colin Powell fits in nicely with your first point. I don't think he actually believed all that business about WMD's he briefed to the U.N., rather he was a soldier, doing his job. When his term was up, he jumped ship.

 

[allvol123]

I think Colin Powell fits in nicely with your first point. I don't think he actually believed all that business about WMD's he briefed to the U.N., rather he was a soldier, doing his job. When his term was up, he jumped ship.

So you contend that he submitted information that he did not believe in? Information that he more than likely knew would help bolster support for the militarisitic confrontation of Iraq. This you would call his "sense of duty"? He was just doing his job? How noble of him.

 

[BigPapaVol]

I think Colin Powell fits in nicely with your first point. I don't think he actually believed all that business about WMD's he briefed to the U.N., rather he was a soldier, doing his job. When his term was up, he jumped ship.

are you kidding me? Powell was a politician, even during his military career. The is a fence rider by his nature, which is why he never had a senior military command.

 

[RhodeIslandVol]

are you kidding me? Powell was a politician, even during his military career. The is a fence rider by his nature, which is why he never had a senior military command.

Uh...FORSCOM? Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman?

About as senior as you can get.

 

[rjd970]

So you contend that he submitted information that he did not believe in? Information that he more than likely knew would help bolster support for the militarisitic confrontation of Iraq. This you would call his "sense of duty"? He was just doing his job? How noble of him.

I think he thought that it wasn't as solid as he was making it out to be and found out afterward the intel was stretched more than he was let on to know.

Of course, I don't know, but that is what I think.

 

[rjd970]

are you kidding me? Powell was a politician, even during his military career. The is a fence rider by his nature, which is why he never had a senior military command.

I don't buy that. He could have won an election to just about any political post he wanted, but chose not to. He was asked to serve under Bush and he did, then got out. If he was such a poltician, I would think he would be more in the public eye, running for office somewhere.

And no senior military command? Really?

 

[BigPapaVol]

I don't buy that. He could have won an election to just about any political post he wanted, but chose not to. He was asked to serve under Bush and he did, then got out. If he was such a poltician, I would think he would be more in the public eye, running for office somewhere.

And no senior military command? Really?

Which post could he have been elected to? Which party was going to do it? He served as SOS, but that was political only. He was keeping options open. He has stayed out of the public eye at the behest of his family.

Look at the military records of our 4 bullet types, CJCS or any of the Chiefs of Staff and tell me which had the weakest resume prior to their 3 or 4 star position. You'll be hard pressed to find many weaker than Powell.

 

[rjd970]

Which post could he have been elected to? Which party was going to do it? He served as SOS, but that was political only. He was keeping options open. He has stayed out of the public eye at the behest of his family.

Look at the military records of our 4 bullet types, CJCS or any of the Chiefs of Staff and tell me which had the weakest resume prior to their 3 or 4 star position. You'll be hard pressed to find many weaker than Powell.

The presidency, for starters. He had appeal to moderates of both the Republican and Democratic side. In 1996 he beat Clinton in hypothetical exit polling on election day and he won the VP nod in the NH primaries on a write-in basis. This alone suggests he could have won the presidency in 1996 if he wanted.

He just didn't want to get into politics.

 

[allvol123]

I think he thought that it wasn't as solid as he was making it out to be and found out afterward the intel was stretched more than he was let on to know.

Of course, I don't know, but that is what I think.

Well I sure as hell don't admire someone that gets dragged around that easily.

 

[BigPapaVol]

The presidency, for starters. He had appeal to moderates of both the Republican and Democratic side. In 1996 he beat Clinton in hypothetical exit polling on election day and he won the VP nod in the NH primaries on a write-in basis. This alone suggests he could have won the presidency in 1996 if he wanted.

He just didn't want to get into politics.

exit polling is utter garbage. He wasn't ever going to beat Clinton.
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