ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 20, 1997 TAG: 9704210142
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ALEXANDRIA, VA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The three-day Presidents' Summit for America's Future hopes to improve the lives of at least 2 million children.
The question to Gen. Colin Powell brought a hearty laugh. How did running an all-volunteer army during the Gulf War compare with his new duties mobilizing millions of Americans to sponsor volunteer work?
``The Gulf War might have been easier,'' quipped Powell.
How so?
``Well, you give orders. But now I'm a civilian. I counsel and they come together,'' Powell told The Associated Press. ``But both are exciting, and both are very rewarding.''
When Powell talks about the three-day Presidents' Summit for America's Future, beginning next Sunday in Philadelphia, he does so with passion. His eyes light up, he makes sweeping gestures, and he wants all of America to catch his enthusiasm.
The summit, brainchild of the late George W. Romney, the former Michigan governor, is bringing together a dazzling list of dignitaries: President Clinton, former Presidents Bush, Carter and Ford, and delegations from 150 communities and all 50 states.
Organizers have structured a five-point program to improve by the end of 2000 the lives of at least 2 million of America's 15 million poor children facing doubtful futures. By that time, organizers hope each child will have a relationship with an adult, a safe place to work or play in nonschool hours, nutritious food, marketable skills and a chance to participate in community service.
Seated at a round table in his office before a huge picture depicting him in animated conversation with a group of children, Powell said in Friday's interview that he heard about the summit in January 1996, while in Philadelphia to give a speech. A few months later, the Points of Light Foundation championed by Bush asked if he would become the summit's chairman.
He said he accepted the job because it was an extension of what he had been doing after he wrote and promoted his book - working with young people.
Taking on such a high-profile job has fueled speculation that the retired general, who declared in 1995 he didn't want anything to do with politics, might be considering a run for the presidency in 2000.
Powell dismissed the speculation. ``I'm not running for any political office,'' he said. ``I'm very happy in private life.''
But he admitted that talk about a Powell political future has its benefits. ``It escalates the attention that gets to whatever I do, and I can use that,'' he said.
At the same time, he said, it can be ``constraining and discomforting.'' He said not a day goes by without people stopping him in supermarkets, gas stations and on airplanes to ask if he will run.
``To some people who are friends of mine, [it] raises the level of anticipation that will not be met, because I'm planning to remain in private life,'' he said.
So far, Powell's call to action for the summit has been heard. Corporations and nonprofit organizations have made hundreds of pledges to help youths have access to the summit's five points.
``I can probably cancel [the summit] tomorrow and declare it a success and save a lot of Philly steak and cheese, and a lot of cows would live through the weekend,'' Powell said with a chuckle.
He said he wants more in volunteering than just knee-jerk reactions to ``grandiose events'' such as Philadelphia. His hope is that the summit will be repeated in every little town, with people sitting together - in a diner, perhaps - to focus on community problems and appeal to the private sector to do more to solve them.
``If we get this kind of reaction, [the summit] will have been a great success. It's not just what a Fortune 500 company does; it's what happens in the diners of America,'' he said.
To ensure that momentum generated by the summit will not fizzle, Powell will work with the summit's follow-up group, America's Promise, the Alliance for Youth, to gather pledges and help more communities help themselves.
Meantime, Powell will earn a living as he has done for months, with speaking tours and promoting his book. His base is his Alexandria office, on the seventh floor of a brick building, with a sweeping view of National Airport.
What does he tell cynics who insist that such a nonpartisan event is just a show?
``This is the time when they can put the sticks down for a while and do something that does not require political calculation,'' Powell said. He added with a chuckle that does not mean Clinton and Bush will not promote their grass-roots civic action programs.
``You can't have an event with people of this level ... where there isn't a little bit of politics played. We don't want to be so unpartisan that we're dull to the point of boredom,'' the retired general said.
He added with a twinkle in his eye: ``A tad of mystery is always useful.''
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