Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Attack Iraq? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (7359)	8/5/2003 11:50:06 AM
From: calgal	Respond to of 8683

Powell Calls Resignation Report 'Gossip' Secretary and Deputy Visit Bush for Talks By Mike Allen Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, August 5, 2003; Page A02 CRAWFORD, Tex., Aug. 4 -- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell dismissed today as "gossip" a report that he and his deputy, Richard L. Armitage, have signaled the White House that they intend to leave their posts even if President Bush wins a second term. Powell did not specifically address whether he would serve in a second Bush administration. Other administration officials maintained today that Powell and Armitage do not plan to continue serving if Bush is reelected. "It's nonsense. I don't know what they are talking about," Powell told Radio Sawa, a U.S. government Arabic-language station. "I serve at the pleasure of the president. The president and I have not discussed anything other than my continuing to do my job for him." Powell's comments came after The Washington Post reported that Armitage recently told national security adviser Condoleezza Rice that the two men would leave office on Jan. 21, 2005. Although Powell aides and other U.S. officials have long understood that Powell intends to leave after four years, Armitage said today that he had told Rice no such thing. Before publishing the report, the Post asked spokesmen for Armitage and Rice about the conversation and whether they would confirm or deny it took place. Both declined to answer. State Department officials are worried that word of a Powell departure will undercut his influence in the administration and undermine U.S. diplomacy around the world during the most complex period of international maneuvering in recent years. Officials said Powell does not want to be seen as a lame duck. Presidential press secretary Scott McClellan did not directly answer questions about whether Powell would serve in a second term. "The president thinks he's doing an outstanding job and appreciates the job that he is doing," he said. Asked whether Powell would serve again, State Department deputy spokesman Philip T. Reeker said, "We leave that for the president and the secretary to discuss." Powell, 66, a retired four-star Army general, was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Persian Gulf War of 1991. He was courted by Republicans to run for president in 1996, but opted not to run. Anticipation of Powell's departure could hurt Bush among moderate voters and further rattle the administration's relations with some overseas allies who strongly prefer Powell's style to the sharper-edged approach of other top members of the administration. The Post article said -- and Republican officials reiterated today -- that Rice would be the leading contender to replace Powell. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz was also mentioned as a potential successor. In the radio interview, Powell called the report "just one of those stories that emerge in Washington that reflects nothing more than gossip and the gossip leads to a rash of speculation about who might fill a vacancy that does not exist." Powell and Armitage are to arrive Tuesday for dinner at Bush's ranch near Crawford, Tex., where the president is spending August. They will confer with Bush for several hours Wednesday and then head back to Washington, aides said. The meeting was scheduled two weeks ago. Staff writer Peter Slevin contributed to this report from Washington. © 2003 The Washington Post Company

To: calgal who wrote (7359)	8/5/2003 11:50:24 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8683

Lieberman Warns Democrats of Isolation URL:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,93687,00.html Tuesday, August 05, 2003 WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Lieberman (search) said that surprise Democratic front-runner Howard Dean (search) threatens to lead the party into a "political wilderness" of weakness, pessimism and defeat. Speaking at the National Press Club (search) on Monday, Lieberman reminded Democrats of the winning ways of Bill Clinton-style centrism, and said the party must focus on strengthening America's security and economy. "Some Democrats, on the contrary, still prefer the old, big government solutions to our problems," Lieberman said in a speech to the National Press Club. "But, my friends, with record deficits, a stalled economy and Social Security in danger, we can't afford that." Lieberman pulled his punches when it came to naming the former Vermont governor directly, but he did make reference to him. "I share the anger of my fellow Democrat with George Bush and the wrong direction he has taken this nation. But the answer to his outdated, extremist ideology is not to be found in the outdated extremes of our own," the Connecticut senator said. After the speech, Lieberman denied to Fox News that he has a fixation with Dean. "This wasn't a speech in response to Howard Dean alone. Howard Dean is obviously the surprise of the year so far," he said. That surprise is unwelcome to Lieberman, who sees himself as the heir to Clinton centrism. "The Democratic Party will only be able to change the leadership of this country in November of 2004 if we run a candidate — I will be specific, me — who will run from the center of American politics out," he told Fox News. While Lieberman goes after the center to take votes from Bush, Dean says Democrats must take a stand against Bush's policies to win. "Unlike some Democrats in Washington, Governor Dean believes that the way to beat George Bush is to stand up to him and to give people a reason to vote," said Dean spokeswoman Tricia Enright. Lieberman said Democrats must prove they're strong on national security. Hawkish U.S. policy in Iraq is a good place to start. "Among the nine Democrats running for president, I am the only one who supported both the Gulf War in 1991 and the war against Saddam this year," he said. Lieberman also said Operation Iraqi Freedom is now a benchmark of Democratic credibility on national security, but also one of political consistency. "It is an important test. Non only of whether you supported the war, but whether you stuck to your guns or became ambivalent about it when it became controversial with some parts of the Democratic constituency," he said, making a thinly veiled swipe at two of his opponents. Those opponents, Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, first supported the war but then questioned the motives, timing and planning to compete with Dean's fiery opposition. Other candidates — Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton — opposed the war from the start. Lieberman also took a swipe at Gephardt's plan to provide health care for nearly all Americans and his opposition to trade treaties such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (search). Lieberman also assailed Dean and Gephardt's calls to abolish all of the Bush tax cuts, labeling it a politically deadly call to raise middle-class taxes. "Middle-class Americans have suffered enough under the Bush administration. We ought to be helping them, not putting more of a burden on their backs," he said. Lieberman, who ran as Al Gore's (search) running mate in 2000, was also asked if he would choose Gore as his vice presidential nominee. "I would guess that being vice president is something one does once in a lifetime, so I don't think that's in the cards. Lieberman had promised not to run for president this year if Gore was in the race. He also he doesn't expect Gore to change his mind and get in now, but won't drop out if he does. "I've crossed a bridge," he said. "I'm in this for the duration." Fox News' Major Garrett and The Associated Press contributed to this report.