Weeeelllll... I used to have a lot of respect for Powell. I've said so here several times and for a long time I would have supported him as a presidential candidate -- not because I agreed with his politics, but because he was smart, relatively moderate, and seeme dlike the kind of guy that can listen to both sides of the story and make a rational decision. 'Xactly what we need in a President. He did some less than savory things in the military, but that's the military; you don't get to pick and choose your orders.

HOWEVER -- the current administration is clearly banking on Powell's reputation to lend a scrap of credibility to their unsubstantiated claims, and Powell is going along with it. The good cop/bad cop routine, I'm afraid, has made me lose any kind of sympathy for anything Powell might say.

But I still think he's a damn sight smarter than pretty much anyone else in the inner circle.