Russert's ego made him not care how long he was going over the alloted time, but Sec. Powell's assistant should have had used better judgement and not put her boss in the position of looking like he owed Russert an apology. Yep, that was a really dumb thing the assistant did. Sec. Powell could have ended the interview in his own diplomatic way,.
On the other hand it effectively damped out his admission of faulty information. Makes me wonder if he asked the aid to create a controversy?
I disagree; Powell could have gone along with his own staff member and blamed the thing on "technical difficulties". That way, Russert would look like the jerk he is when he can't get a forced response to his leftist bullshit. But not Colon Bowell.
I am dumbfounded as to why the Republicans make such a big deal out of Powell. The guy has never been right on any important issue of the day, at any moment in his military or political career. If the Republicans need to trot out a black person, then why not give the honors to Rice. At least she has a better record of conservative advocacy than Powell.