The results of the mid-term elections do not bode well for the Republican Party's chance at the presidency in 2008. Provided that Texas does not secede from our glorious Union (again), Republicans after 2008 will find themselves in a now unfamiliar position: not running a country. Karl "The Handler" Rove, Dick "The Terminator" Cheney and fellow Republicans must come face-to-face with a reality they must have seen coming: It's Powell time.
The situation for Republicans is desperate. It does not take a political science major to tell you that Americans seem to want Democrats holding the reigns. But do not fret, Republicans. There is a man who may be the key to getting a Republican elected to the White House: a man of integrity, military acumen, political savvy and the necessary street cred to win over the American people. At this point, I am sure Republicans would be happy with a Republican that the American people actually like. Well, Republicans haven't heard of or from this Republican in some time. However, unless Republicans want to see Obama and Clinton in the White House, they'd better run Colin "Pretty Boy" Powell.
Powell, Schwarzenegger and McCain are the only big Republican names from the past decade that the average American can think of without scowling in disgust. Seeing as Arnold's name can't fit on the ballot, Republicans are left with two viable options. McCain's already had his shot. It's Powell Time.
Not that McCain cannot or should not come along for the ride; he would make a great vice president.
The Powell Doctrine of the First Gulf War sheds some light on how things would have been run this time around had Powell's advice been heeded: better. The Powell Doctrine calls for overwhelming numbers of troops on the ground to pacify hostile populations. The Rumsfeld Doctrine calls for a small, light force adept at winning wars but inept at keeping peace. Not only was Powell hesitant to go to war in Iraq, he would have won it much more decisively had he been afforded chance to do so.
Before our invasion of Iraq was exposed as the ill-fated misadventure that it has become, Condoleezza "The Rock" Rice was touted as a possible contender for the presidency come 2008. If Condi is worthy of an honorable mention, I see no reason to count Powell out. While Rice's behavior reeks of obsequious servitude, Powell's actions — the disastrous UN "Iraq has WMDs" speech aside — were marked with free-thinking integrity that set him apart from the rest of Bush's inner circle. I am not sure what criteria Rice fits, but Colin Powell undoubtedly meets said criterion. He reeks of criteria. He's got criteria in spades.
So, allow me to be the first to call for and predict a Powell/McCain ticket come 2008. Powell has already shown a willingness to work with the current Republican frontrunner for president. In September, Powell sent McCain a strongly worded letter upbraiding his previous boss' plan to establish military commissions to interrogate and prosecute enemy combatants and terrorists. This was not the first time Powell went head-to-head with Bushco over an issue. Frequent disagreements with Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and even John Bolton marked his surprisingly ineffective tenure as secretary of state during Bush's first term. Seeing as how distance from Bush seems to be a determining factor in how the electorate is voting, Powell stands to benefit from his somewhat maverick and marginalized image in the first administration.
And maverick and marginalized he was. So marginalized, in fact, that on Sept. 10, 2001, a day before the Sept. 11 attacks, Time Magazine ran its September edition with a cover taunting "Where Have You Gone, Colin Powell?" The administration wasn't listening to Powell, and it is easy to see why. Powell was instrumental in urging an unwilling Bush to seek a diplomatic resolution to the administration's fabricated qualms with Iraq. Cognizant of the anger the international community may have responded with at America's preemptive war with a nation that played no role in the Sept. 11 attacks, Powell was able to convince Bush to act first through the UN. This was an unpopular move with the hawkish Bush insiders, and it was only a matter of time before the retired four-star general started to feel unwelcome — and jobless.
Besieged by a torrent of servile neo-con voices, Powell became an outsider in the administration. A thoughtful moderate among intransigent extremists, Powell got out as soon as it was possible to do so, and may have escaped as the most respected man of the Bush administration. Powell, a bit marred from his time with Bush, still has some political capital left to spend, and he should spend it. And Republicans could reap the benefits.
Gerald Cox ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in economics.
