How will outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell be remembered?

Will it be as the nation's first African American secretary of state? Or will it be for being one of the most ineffectual individuals to head the State Department? It is safe to conclude that it will not be for the "Powell Doctrine," assuming that anyone can remember what it was. The Powell legacy was cemented on February 5, 2003, when he made the case for war at the United Nations. And for that reason, Colin Powell will be remembered for wasting his credibility on a flawed policy. When the Bush Administration took office there was no one that I respected more than Colin Powell, a feeling shared by a majority of Americans. As the most respected person in the Bush Administration, Powell used that clout to make the case for war. It was undoubtedly the single most important moment leading up to the invasion of Iraq. Moreover, the media's unquestioning endorsement of Powell's assertions, based largely on his personal credibility, made the war against Iraq inevitable. [more]

• Pictured above: "I used to work in the Pentagon, but now I help you get yo' chicken on" -- Billy Dee Williams as Colin Powell (Gen. Boutwell) in the film Undercover Brother. In the movie Powell gives up a run for the U.S. presidency in favor of opening a fried-chicken franchise. Consuming too much of the General's Nappy Meals led to a mass brainwashing of the populace.