Rice Replaces Powell at State Department; Minion Paige Also Quits

Secretary of State Colin Powell announced his resignation on Monday and Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security advisor, was nominated on Tuesday to succeed him. Rice is considered more of a hardliner in foreign policy than Powell and was frequently aligned with Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in internal struggles.  Powell, the administration's most prominent moderate, often found himself on the losing end of many of those White House debates. Rice is expected to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, making her the second African-American and the first Black woman to serve in that post. Powell's announced resignation was greeted by African-Americans with a mixture of praise and condemnation.[more]