White House Expresses Support for Powell

[Nambe]

Emmis Interactive/Chicago

The White House expressed President Bush's support Monday for Secretary of State Colin Powell in response to a report that he did not plan to serve in a second term.

"The president thinks he is doing an outstanding job and appreciates the job that he is doing," Press Secretary Scott McClellan said. "The president looks forward to Secretary Powell continuing to work with him in our foreign policy realm."

The praise was in response to a report in The Washington Post that Powell's deputy, Richard L. Armitage, had told National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice that neither he nor Powell would stay on if Bush was re-elected. ---

White House and State Department officials refused to say whether Powell would stay on if Bush won a second term. ---

Banish bush From Texas Too

[kainah]

1. oh yeah, lots of support from the WH

And the NSA didn't plant this story, right?

[Jawja]

2. See what's happening here?

The Bush administration leaked this to the press and now they are "standing behind Powell." This is how they play ball. The object is to get rid of Powell without appearing to be behind the pressure.

Remember Trent Lott?

on edit: And it serves a dual purpose by keeping the heat off of Condi Rice. If all of the speculation is on Powell, who is talking about the failures of Rice?

[StandWatie]

3. Great work doing what?

They slapped down everything he proposed and had Newt Gingrich do a hit piece on him in the conservative press, what was it he did that they liked?

Someone asked Mr. W awhile back what he thought about Powell (this was before the Iraqi's started dragging his junkie nose though the desert) and he said "He's a diplomat, you have to have a diplomat" and you could almost hear the contempt drip down his face.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

4. Who is in the White House...

...now? Shrub is out at the Crawdad Pig Farm and Cheney tends to be in hiding. So just WHO is putting out press releases and claiming to be "the White House"?

[Warren Stuart]

5. Whenever Bush affirms support for anything

It's a sure sign that that thing is history.

It's become a Republican MO, show support for something right before they cut and run. What they expect to gain with this strategy is beyond me.

Last year Pataki ran commercials featuring union workers, then he turns around and screws them.

Are people that dumb, are their memories that short?

[indypaul]

6. With Tom Delay acting

like Sec of State now. Perhaps he is grooming himself
for that job in the next Bush administration and Powell
just happens to be in the way. Let's hope that Powell
has nothing to worry about since there will be no second
Bush administration.