What if Colin Powell had become president?

If Colin Powell had followed George H.W. Bush into the Oval Office, the Republican Party — and the world — would be very different today

The funeral of former President George H.W. Bush returned to the spotlight many who served in his administration. Some, like former Vice President Dan Quayle, are very much artifacts of that time. Others, such as his defense secretary Dick Cheney, later the 46th vice president, have since grown in importance.

Colin Powell is in a middle category. He ascended from chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the elder Bush's administration to secretary of state under his son. Yet he clearly had a less of a policy impact than Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or other H.W. alumni like Condoleezza Rice or even Paul Wolfowitz.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
W. James Antle III

W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner, the former editor of The American Conservative, and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?.