Colin Powell: Examining a Key Player in the Bush Administration

To understand an administration, you need to understand the key players. Through analyzing the Bush presidency, it is clear that the agenda was constructed and shaped by more than just one man. The President’s choice for executive cabinet members is the first major decision he will make and may affect the outcome of his presidency. The President’s cabinet is comprised of the most senior appointed officers in the executive branch of the federal government. Amongst other things, Article II, Section II of the US Constitution gives the President the power to create an executive cabinet. Its history goes back to the first American President. George Washington appointed a cabinet of only four people to advise and assist him. Modern presidents can have more than twenty. Cabinet officers are nominated by the President, and then confirmed by the Senate by a simple majority. George W. Bush became president in 2000 and soon thereafter, he appointed his cabinet. Today, in 2010, giving a retrospective analysis of the Bush administration, paints a clearer picture then there was only a year ago. I will be analyzing one key member of the Bush administration, Secretary of State, Colin Powell. By examining a single key player, the story of the Bush administration is shed in new light. Through the understanding of Powell’s roll in the Bush administration, I hope to reveal another layer of Bush’s presidency. Powell’s public approval and strong sense of duty was key to advancing the agenda of the administration. Understanding Powell’s personal history, influence within the administration, and conflicts that arose during his time with the administration and beyond, allows us to analyze Bush as a leader. This paper will highlight the reasoning for George W Bush’s decisions in selecting Powell and whether or not he took the advice of his appointee or more broadly if he understood in selecting his cabinet members he fully understood their purpose. George W. Bush had the perfect opportunity in that Colin Powell, a respected well known and revered figure could influence public opinion and the opinion of the credibility of his own Presidency.

For 35 years, Powell was a professional soldier, and held a variety of command and staff positions and eventually rising to the rank of a Four Star General. Shortly after college, he was dispatched to South Vietnam by President Kennedy in 1962. In 1963, Powell was wounded by a punji-stick booby trap at the Vietnamese border. He was awarded the Purple Heart, and later that year, the Bronze Star. From 1968 to 1969 Powell served a second tour of duty in Vietnam. During this time he survived a helicopter crash. He was able to rescue other soldiers as well earning him the Soldier's Medal. In total, Powell has earned eleven military decorations. 2

Soon after his second tour in Vietnam, Powell earned an MBA at George Washington University. He was awarded a fellowship at the White House, a highly exclusive, extremely prestigious position. Powell’s fellowship allowed him to work for the Nixon administration in the Office of Management and Budget from 1972 to 1973. It was here that Powell met and impressed many influential characters that would help him advance in his career years later.

In total, Powell worked for five different administrations before becoming Secretary of State under George W. Bush. After his fellowship under Nixon, Powell served under Jimmy Carter as the assistant to the Secretary of Energy and to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. During the Reagan administrations, Powell became the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In this position, Powell coordinated technical and policy advisers for Reagan’s summit meetings with Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. Powell was the first African American to hold this position. He would be the first African American in every subsequent position that he held.3

In 1991, Powell served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George Herbert Walker Bush. Powell‘s notoriety came from the successful Desert Shield and Desert Storm operations. These operations removed Iraq from Kuwait, making the Gulf War a success. Later, under the Clinton administration, Powell continued as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the beginning of Clinton’s first term. Powell retired from the military in 1993 and published his autobiography, My American Journey, in 1995. 4

Due to Powell’s popularity and respectability, it was often a questioned whether he would run for office. Powell was always a registered independent in the military. He served in both Democrat and Republican administrations and would have been welcomed warmly by both parties. In 1995, Powell declared that he had registered as a Republican and spoke at the GOP convention the following year. In 2001, Powell returned to the White House as President Elect George W. Bush’s Secretary of State.

After a highly contested presidential election in 2000 with the U.S. Supreme Court declaring the recount in Florida was over, George Bush could then concentrate on filling positions in his administration. Powell had worked for Bush’s father and was highly respected. It came as no surprise that Bush immediately thought of Powell when developing his own administration. Powell would later say, "It just sort of happened as it was assumed to happen."5 After Al Gore declared that he was defeated by Bush, Powell flew to Bush's Texas ranch. Powell was Bush’s first Cabinet nominee. After Bush’s announcement of his decision about Powell, a Gallup poll was conducted in December 15 that further justified his choice. 83% of polled Americans said that they have a favorable opinion of Powell. Only 6% had an unfavorable opinion. Furthermore, Powell was liked by both parties, giving the new Bush administration more bipartisan credibility. 90% of Republicans, 80% of independents, and 80% of Democrats had a favorable opinion of the newly appointed Secretary of State.6

A personal relationship between Bush and Powell was almost nonexistent. They have very different personalities, making their relationship formal and stiff. It is believed that Powell thought that Bush’s impatience and fidgety demeanor was irritating. Powell was also annoyed by Bush’s tendency to interrupt everyone, no matter who they were or their importance.7 Bush had a high level of respect for Powell, as he did with all cabinet members that also worked under his father. Powell had a respect for Bush resulting from his military background that fostered in him a strong respect for authority and a duty to serve.

Bush publicly presented his views as being aligned with Powell in part to give his own views credibility. “Our next secretary of state believes as I do that we must work closely with our allies and friends in times of calm so that we will be able to work together in times of crises. He believes as I do that our nation is best when we project our strength and our purpose with humility.” President Elect George W. Bush announcing Collin Powell for Secretary of State. Bush recalls Harry Truman’s announcement speech of his Secretary of State, George Marshall, and tearfully quotes “‘He is a tower of strength and common sense. When you find somebody like that, you have to hang on to them.’ I have found such a man." Later, when reporters asked about the tears in his eyes he said that he was emotional because "I so admire Colin Powell. I love his story." Powell made remarks about working with our allies that clearly demonstrated his support for inclusion. His position on working within the international community crystallized when Powell insisted on getting approval from the UN before using force in Iraq. He said, “Not by using our strength and our position of power to get back behind our walls but by being engaged with the world. By first and foremost letting our allies know that we appreciate all we have been through over the last 50 years and our alliances are as strong now as they ever have been and they are as needed now as they ever have been. And we will work with our allies to expand and to make those alliances the center of our foreign policy activity.” 8