The Associated Free Press is reporting that Bush is remodeling his kitchen, starting with the cabinets. On the list of things to replace: John Ashcroft, Colin Powell, Donald Rhumsfeld, and Tom Ridge.
I feel bad for Colin, being made to make a jerk of himself in front of the world. Of all the men currently serving the Whitehouse, he is the one I would rather see as President. I'd vote for him without blinking an eye. He's presidential material and I hope we will see more of him, though as a presidential candidate and nothing less.
Tom, John, and Donald, adios amigos. Don't let the beltway hit your ass on the way out suckas.
I think the next four years are going to be easier to predict when we see the replacements — maybe Rudy or McCain?
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Rudy has said that he's not interested in a cabinet position, that he's happy doing what he's doing now. (What DOES he do?) McCain will likely stay a senator, IMO. As for Colin Powell, he's turned down an offer to be vice-president before so I doubt he would campaign for the presidency. Although I'd have to agree with you that I'd definitely vote for him.
Personally, I hope McCain stays as far away from BushCo. as possible. He's one of the few on the right I'm a fan of -- I used to be a fan of Powell -- and an affiliation with the current administration would make me notafan.
Ray: This is what Giuliani is up to these days. I know he was working with officials in Mexico City some time back to clean it up a la NYC, but I'm not sure if he still is...
McCain/Powell in 2008, we hope and pray.
Feh. Clean'em all out and start fresh, I say. Half of them belong in prison anyway, and the other half have no business in politics.
Colin for sure. I couldn't vote for him ("I Am Canadian" 'eh) but if I could I would... without blinking an eye.
I was hoping it was the end of Condoleeza Rice too -- if there's anyone who was a fibber before the 9/11 commission, she gets the tiara.
Regardless who goes, it is within the history of this Administration to put some questionable people in line next... I'm more scared of who's going Supreme Court than his cabinet.
I would imagine Guiliani will be cast off the GOP radar very, very soon. He will not run for higher office nor would they let him get very far if he did. McCain too, I think, he got played for moderate GOP votes just like Rudy but the GOP doesn't like McCain because he's too honest and wouldn't have the nerve to move on the really crooked corporate giveaways like Bush.
I would be looking at the hardliners from the South -- maybe someone formerly involved with the Christian Coalition or something. If the GOP knows anything, they know that if you have someone that you can prop up there who hates the same people you hate, you will forgive a lot of monkey business when you vote. Amen.
I wonder what these dudes did though, Donald and Colin, to get pushed out?
That's a good question. I understand now that Tom Ridge was planning on leaving anyway because his jobs sucks and he wants to spend more time with the family.
I had so much respect for Powell before that little UN incident. I would surely vote for him if he were to run but sadly I can't get past the fact that he was Bush's token bitch for a minute there.
McCain - Powell in 2008
Oh.. I would so love to see Obama vs. Powell in 2008. Now that would be awesome. Democracy, biatch!
I think they're just saying they are planning to leave -- that's a politicians tactic. Don't make it look as if there's any bad blood.
I'd guess Donald's gone because Abu Gharib -- either because it leaked and it shouldn't have, or because it was not controlled effectively. Colin, I'm not so sure -- maybe because of the fact that he became a poster boy for WMD's and Iraq? That would help lessen the visual blow more... or clear the way for his son.
I'm actually glad to see Colin leaving, as he can hopefully now focus on more respectable things. And yes, I too would definitely vote for him if he ever ran for president. Among my international friends he seems to have good standing, and that's saying something.
The rest, well it's already been said well enough. Though I will miss Rhumsfeld's interaction with reporters.
fantastic first sentence.
now my two cents:
Bush cannot run for another term. What does this mean? He does not have to play to his christian fundamentalist base. In fact, the only move that he could make right now to raise his approval rating would be to pull a little tighter to being a centrist. He cannot go on with 50% of the country hating him. I will be that he has his administration, if not himself, start playing nice with Ted Kennedy et al.
I'd LOVE to see Clark/Obama vs. McCain/Powell. You can't really lose either way, and at least that way I wouldn't have to go to bed the night after the elections with heavy depression and wake up the next morning with a heavy hangover.
Michael- please tell me that's the truth! I find it hard to believe but it's one of the only things I've read that's given me any hope today. Nah, I still can't believe it.
I'd love to see Clinton/Obama in 2008, but I don't think they'd ever manage to pull in any conservative vote. Also Obama already said he's not going to run in 2008.
heavy depression++
heavy hangover++
As far as I know - Rice is out too. At least that what I heard on NPR this morning...
Good God please no Rudy!!!!! As far as Colin goes, I agree he'd make a very good Republican Candidate, but let's not forget that the GOP offered it to Colin before they offered it to George JR and he turned it down along with the offer to run as VP. Apprently his wife won't allow it as she's scared he'd get bumped off. Sadly she may be right.
I had all the respect for Colin Powell during the Clinton administration. He was the one cabinet member of the Bush administration I felt the most confident at serving his post before the Iraq mess. Since then, IMO, Colin Powell has lost all credibility. Yes, Bush administration did made him make a jerk of himself infront of the world. But he is still the one that ALLOWED it to happen. No one made him do it. He didn't have enough wit to stand up and gather his own facts. Instead, he made himself a puppet.
I heard a rumor that Hillary is running in 2008... will it be the first black president or the first woman president?
And now for a joke...
Bush met with the Queen of England and asks her, "How do you keep your country running so smoothly without any of the problems that I seem to be having in the US?
The Queen responds, "Well, I make sure that all my staff are top notch, that's why I give them riddles to solve. If they can't solve the riddles, they are out."
So they go and find PM Blair and the Queen asks him, "Tony, your parents have a child, but that child is neither your brother nor your sister... who is it." Tony thinks for a second and replies, "It's me, of course."
Bush was obviously impressed and decided to try it on his staff, so on his return he meets with Dick Chenney and says, "Dick, your parents have a child, but that child is neither your brother nor your sister... who is it?" Dick thinks about it for a long minute and says, "Mr. President, I'll have to get back to you on that one."
Later that day during lunch, Bush bumps into Colin Powell and asks him the same riddle as to which Colin replies almost immediately, "It's me, Mr. President."
Furious, Bush calls for Dick to go to his office. As Dick walks in he says, "Mr. President, the answer to your question is... Colin Powel."
The president then gets really mad and screams, I'm dealing with a bunch of idiots here! The answer is Tony Blair!!!!!
I'm with Gloria.
I'm not american so maybe I'm a little biased, but I'd like not to see any key member of the past administration improving their cursus honorum in the future.
Do you know which is the signal that things can possibly go as bad as feared for an istitution of any kind?
It is when good willing, wise members trick themselves into thinking that, for whatever "good" reason, their consciousness and ethic values should be set apart for a while for the sake of istitution's goals, loyalty to their chiefs, misunderstood sense of responsabilty of their role, and so on.
This is precisely what Powell did when accepted to show satellite shots of fake chemicals trucks and installations in front of the UN assembly.
I was watching People in the News the other day: Colin Powell said he was thinking about running for President, but his wife talked him out of it. He believed he was not presidential material, though most of North America sees him as a good guy.
He didn't actually support Bush's resolution to War, but he did in the UN because he felt it was his duty.
I really hope things change--I'd like to see Hillary / Powell in 2008.
I doubt the rednecks will, though.
Are you out of your mind? Running Hilary as a presidential candidate would be the stupidest thing for the DNC to do. Ever. If you think the animosity towards gay marriage was big you haven't seen anything yet.
I gotta agree with Greg about Hillary Clinton.
This country is pretty evenly divided between Republican and Democrats. Like it or not, there will be a good amount of Dems who would not vote for her because she's a woman. Are there enough Republicans who would vote for her because she's a woman to even it out?
I don't care if the president is a man or woman, as long as it's not Hilary Clinton.
The DNC better decide real quick whether they are liberal or not. The watered-down Republican routine is not working.
Looking at the blue and red map of the electoral college, the Dems need someone in 2008 that will be able to capture some of the red headless heartland states. I doubt Hillary Clinton will be able to do that in 2008.
In the last 12 years, the voters have elected governors as president. For any senator running for office, voters have direct access to their voting record in the Senate or the House. That was what hurt both Kerry and Gore in their campaigns. Top candidates now would be Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Gov. Mark Warker of Virginia, or the governor of Iowa. Hillary has a slim chance, but she would most likely get a cabinet position in '08.
Powell would make a great president. He is repsected throughout the country for his leadership and respected around the world for his diplomacy. However, his party doesn't like him. He didn't support Bush's push to immediately strike Iraq, he's pro-choice and pro-affrimative action, and he supports a sex education curriculum with safe sex being in the forefront. You're talking about a Republican Party that shows more support for Alan Keyes than Powell. I have always admired him for his standards and how he stands on his own away from the party, but that will hurt him.
As far as a cabinet, Ashcroft and Rumsfeld should go. Condi's role will fade, but if Powell leaves, she will most likely follow.
i think we can say sayonara to condi, as well.
I think a lot of people have been saying that about Colin Powell since Clinton was on his way out. That would have been the time to elect him too. He's the one Republican that I'm sure a lot of Democratic voters would stand behind.
Hello From Belguim,you are a Verry Nice Blog, Kiss °)
We've been having an ongoing discussion over at juiced thoughts with the young republicans about the pluses and minuses about the DNC in the future.
Paraphrase, Hilary would light up the women, but she's still a northeastern. Edwards can light up the south (and is a good simple salesman) but he's out of the limelight for four years. Obama is a rising star, but his ethnicity, sad to say, is gonna piss off some hicks... which wouldn't be a bad thing as far as I'm concerned, but that's honest politics - he will be inexperienced with foreign policy (a plus with clinton) and that could bite him in the arse too. Newson in SF for lighting up the left, but his strong support for Gay rights may have to hold him off for another few years.
The same complaints for almost all the Republicans, but they have fear on their side.
... now if Powell went ahead and joined the Democrats..
Here's a second for McCain/Powell in 2008, although I doubt we'll see it for a host of reasons. They are both thinkers who do what they think is right, regardless of party lines (well, mostly - Powell has spouted the party rhetoric with a grimace on occasion). Heck, if they had come out as independents in the last two weeks, I think they might have beaten Bush AND Kerry.
It's great that everyone is leaving the Bush cabinet. It's time for a makeover anyhow. Well, to me it seemed like Powell was the most "sane" of them all. I don't follow politics all too often, but if anyone had to step down, why him? He says that he only wanted to do one term, but maybe deep down inside he knows what Bush's true plans are and doesn't support it? I did not vote for Bush. I voted against Bush. Everyone leaving his cabinet might just show America that Bush is a moron and that everyone who voted for him should of voted for Kerry. I don't like either one, but someone's gotta run this country and do it right. Replacing Powell with Rice was kind of out there with the whole 9/11 commission. I don't like her either.