text: DeYoung begins by relating how Bush pushed Powell out at the end of his 1st term, without the courtesy of even personally discussing it with him; making matters worse was the  fact that Bush didn't even know why Powell was at the White House when it came time to say "Good Bye."
  
  Colin Powell came from Jamaican parents (often called "Jewmaicans" by American Negroes because of the emphasis they placed on hard work and education), and during his early life in the NYC area suffered little, if any, racial prejudice.  Later on, unfortunately, the insults were quite aggravating, but Powell was determined to not let them inhibit his performance.
  
  Powell was an indifferent student in high school and at CCNY (majored in geology); however, ROTC piqued his sophomore-year interest and he soon became a standout.  Powell went on to be selected outstanding cadet, and top graduate (or very close) in every military training setting he undertook, as well as a top MBA student at George Washington University.  He also was top-ranked by superiors in almost every military assignment, leading to his being offered a White House fellowship, which in turn provided Powell with travel to Russia and China and brought him in contact with a number of influential people who were impressed enough to forward Powell onto Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, National Security Advisor, and Secretary of State.
  
  One of Powell's "secrets of success" was to enthusiastically implement all orders, even those he considered silly - Powell himself believed that doing otherwise grounded the careers of many talented others.
  
  Unfortunately, Powell eventually crossed paths with Dick Cheney (a bit of a problem during Gulf War I; a serious problem when Cheney became V.P.).  Between Cheney's far-right bias ("out on the looney fringe" - per Powell) and Bush II's "disturbingly disjointed" decision-making - per Treasury Secretary O'Neill), Powell's contributions as Secretary of State were severely limited and constantly undermined and countermanded - often with Don Rumsfeld's help.  In addition, he was often left out of important decisions, especially when out of the country.  Ultimately, Powell's credibility suffered from the inaccurate information provided in his U.N. speech attesting to Saddam's WMD.
  
  The big question, still debated, is "Why didn't he resign?"  His supporters believe the reason is that Powell's nature simply didn't allow anything less than 100% support.
  
  Bottom Line:  If Cheney had not been such an ideologue (telling Bush there were no candidates good enough to run as his V.P. - ignoring Powell, and then sliding into the position himself), Powell would be V.P. today, possibly President in 2008.  Similarly, if Bush #41 had not been so stubborn and instead replaced Quayle with Powell in '92, Powell might well have become first V.P., and then President
  