THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 10, 1995 TAG: 9511100012
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Richard Ben Cramer's book about the 1988 presidential race is What It Takes. In it, he concludes that what it takes to win the presidency is the willingness to do whatever it takes.
Colin Powell admitted Wednesday that he lacked that willingness. He didn't complain about the trial by fire the pursuit of office requires, but said he lacked the passion and commitment needed to go through the process.
Many are disappointed, though he made friends for life of President Clinton and Sen. Bob Dole. As the Powell press conference confirmed, he's a class act; a seasoned leader; a bright, articulate, decent man who would have been a highly attractive candidate.
But Powell was right to cut off speculation and take himself out of contention when he realized he lacked fire in the belly.
Many will say there's something wrong with a process that entails so much sacrifice. Alma Powell was worried about her husband's safety if he decided to run. It's a reasonable worry in an era of rampant assassination.
Running for president also means a complete loss of privacy. Winning means life in a fishbowl forever after. Then there's the mud that will be slung at you and that you will be expected to sling back. Even so pleasant a man as George Bush was persuaded to sink to the Willie Horton ad. Politics is not a career choice for the fastidious.
And these days, many of the slings and arrows are likely to come from your own side. Even before Powell decided whether to seek office, a phalanx of zealots from his prospective party attacked him for apparent moderation, for failing to pass their litmus tests.
Yet Powell said none of that really weighed in his decision, except perhaps the sacrifices he would force on his family. He'd faced fire before and showed he could perform a surgical strike by deftly dismissing conservative critics.
Powell did worry out loud about the incivility and ad hominem attacks of modern campaigning, but he seemed to think he could have run without getting into a mud-wrestling contest and that the public shares his disdain for such behavior. He might be right about that, and we hope he is.
Ultimately Powell made it clear he wasn't stopped by the nastiness of the process. He stopped himself. He simply didn't have the desire to take this particular hill. And that means he isn't the man for the job. What it takes, for starters, is wanting it. by CNB