Having been on somewhat of a blog and news hiatus for the last four days, my knowledge of Colin Powell’s resignation is limited to the following statement: “Colin Powell resigned.”
Powell struck me as a reluctant convert, and one who, as the months stretched into years, found himself further away from supporting (at least with any real sense of earnestness) the President’s policies. The war in Iraq seems to have taken its toll on him, as has his exasperation at the failed intelligence which left him hanging in the wind.
Overall, though, from my uninformed position, it seems that his resignation is probably more of a personal decision than a political one. Politically, he’s still got lots of capital, and could return any time, though I wonder if we’ll ever see him in a cabinet position again. Personally, he seems tired. Very tired. And I hope he uses this time to get some much needed rest.