Powell had a military career to be honored. His political debacles with Bush and Obama were disgraceful.
Agreed on his military career, Reno.
Reading his biography several years ago and going from memory here, I’ll never forget his telling of his aunt’s penchant for rum. Powell related how at family gatherings she would ask for just a little taste of it in a very large glass, but when it was brought to her she said they could at least fill the huge thing half way so it would have something in it. :-)
That is how I kind of view it in a nutshell.
And even though men like Benedict Arnold showed us that past actions as a war hero can and do (for good reason) get overwritten by treachery, I still try to remember that Powell probably wasn’t always the way he became, enamored of the Washington Cocktail and Media Circuit.
He showed his true character in the Scooter Libby debacle. He did the equivalent of knowingly letting an innocent man hang, because it was politically advantageous to him or his personal interests.