- Title: VARIOUS: FEATURE- USA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS - COLIN POWELL
- Date: 29th October 1995
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK STATE, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 16, 1995) (REUTERS) CROWD OUTSIDE BOOKSTORE POWELL AUTOGRAPHING BOOKS MEDIA POWELL MOTIONING TO REPORTER WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 14, 1995) (REUTERS) THOMAS MANN, POLITICAL ANALYST AT BROOKINGS INSTITUTION, SAYING THE MEDIA WILL TREAT POWELL DIFFERENTLY ONCE HE STANDS FOR ELECTION (ENGLISH) UNSPECIFIED LO
- Embargoed: 13th November 1995 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, UNITED STATES/ VARIOUS LOCATIONS, SAUDI ARABIA/ LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM/ PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI
- City:
- Country: Saudi Arabia Usa United Kingdom
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVABAI27ZMD7P6B8SILHNI3847XA
- Story Text: The United States presidential election is still more than a year away, but already Americans are speculating as to who will challenge President Clinton for re-election. And one man...a popular retired U.S. general who has yet to announce his candidacy or his party affiliation...has created a groundswell of public support...sending shockwaves throughout the political establishment.
Reuters Television's Stephanie Vuckovic reports.
------------------------------------------------------------------- General Colin Powell has been called on by past presidents for his advice in times of crisis. Now the public is calling on him to make a bid for the presidency.
--------------------- (REPORTER QUESTION: "WILL YOU DISAPPOINT THEM OR WILL YOU RUN? POWELL: WELL, THAT'S WHAT WE'LL BE EXAMINING OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS." (ENGLISH) --------------------- The 58-year-old retired military officer has been tantalising voters since September...when he began a 26-city book tour to promote his autobiography..."An American Journey." His bookstore appearances have taken on the trappings of a political campaign...with the media vying for his attention...and trying to draw out his intentions. But Powell is not telling.
----------------------- (POWELL) "I DO HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE COUNTRY, I HAVE SOME IDEAS, I'LL BE SHARING THOSE IDEAS AND THEN I'LL FIND OUT AFTER THE TOUR WHAT THE BEST WAY IS FOR ME TO SERVE THE COUNTRY IN SOME CAPACITY." ----------------------- The media and ordinary citizens are pushing for Powell..so much so that the frenzy about his appearance on the political scene has been dubbed "Powellmania." ------------------------ (VOX POPS) "HE WAS A GREAT GENERAL, HE'S A GREAT PERSON AND I JUST THINK HE'D BE A VERY GOOD PRESIDENT" (ENGLISH) "HONESTY, INTEGRITY AND HE'S DOWN TO EARTH, THOSE ARE THE THINGS I LOOK FOR IN ANY CANDIDATE" (ENGLISH) ------------------------- Political analysts explain his appeal.
------------------------- CAPTION: THOMAS MANN, POLITICAL ANALYST, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION "POLITICIANS AND COMMENTATORS READ INTO HIM THEIR OWN BELIEFS AND VALUES. WE KNOW SO LITTLE ABOUT HIM AS A POLITICAL PERSON, WE'RE FREE TO PROJECT OUR OWN VIEWS AND VALUES." (ENGLISH) ------------------------- Powell first rose to world-wide fame during the Gulf War and in his roles as Joint Chiefs of Staff to former President Bush and National Security Adviser to President Reagan. Since then he's shared the stage with some of the world's leaders in major trouble spots.
-------------------------- (POWELL) "I NEVER INTENDED TO BE A POLITICIAN, I ALWAYS PLANNED TO BE A SOLDIER. PEOPLE CAN CALL ME A POLITICAL GENERAL, BUT FOR 35 YEARS, I WAS A SOLDIER." (ENGLISH) ------------------------- He has been compared to another American general...World War Two hero Dwight Eisenhower...who also kept the public at bay before running for and winning the White House in 1952.
-------------------------- (POWELL) "GENERAL EISENHOWER WAS A GREAT MAN, ONE OF MY HEROES, BUT THIS IS 1995, NOT 1952 AND IT'S A DIFFERENT WORLD" (ENGLISH) -------------------------- Powell, like Eisenhower, has been criticised for his style. Some have said he's too calculating and cautious to take risks...and that he doesn't have enough political savvy or experience.
Powell defends himself against such charges.
-------------------------- (POWELL) "WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, I'M A SKILLED POLITICAL PLAYER" (ENGLISH) -------------------------- Powell has kept quiet about the details of his political views. He HAS come out to say he's for the death penalty, the woman's right to choose abortion and limited gun control.
These positions seem to place Powell as an independent or moderate Republican.
--------------------------- (POWELL) "YES, YOU CAN BE A REPUBLICAN, THERE ARE MANY REPUBLICANS WHO HAVE MORE MODERATE VIEWS ON ISSUES THAN THE RIGHT WING OF THE PARTY" (ENGLISH) CAPTION: BOB DOLE, REPUBLICAN FRONT-RUNNER "WE'RE A BIG PARTY, WE DON'T HAVE TO AGREE ON EVERY ISSUE. WE'RE NOT A LOCK-STEP PARTY, WE BELIEVE IN FIGHTING IT OUT AND THE WINNER WINS. CERTAINLY, THERE'S ROOM IN THE PARTY AND IF HE DECIDES TO RUN, I HOPE IT'S AS A REPUBLICAN." (ENGLISH) (REPORTER QUESTION) "WOULD YOU CONSIDER HIM AS A RUNNING MATE" (DOLE:) "WAIT A MINUTE, I HAVEN'T EVEN WON THE NOMINATION YET" (ENGLISH) CAPTION: CHARLES COOK, POLITICAL REPORTER "I WOULD SAY RIGHT NOW, AMONG POLITICAL CONSULTANTS AND POLITICAL REPORTERS, THE BETTING IS HEAVILY HE'S GOING TO END UP RUNNING AS DOLE'S RUNNING MATE AND NOT RUNNING AS AN INDEPENDENT" (ENGLISH) ---------------------------- But the General may be better off going it alone. Polls show Powell beating Clinton if he ran as the Republican nominee.
Powell's "American Journey" began in a working-class neighbourhood in the South Bronx...a mixed-race community that became home to his Jamaican immigrant parents.
But Powell says his first encounter with racism came when he joined the army and travelled south.
----------------------------- CAPTION: CHARLES KELLY, CITIZENS FOR POWELL "HE WAS A BLACK BOY FROM HARLEM, A BLACK SOLDIER IN A WHITE MAN'S ARMY, YOU DON'T GET AHEAD IN THAT UNLESS EVERYBODY TRUSTS YOU AND BELIEVES IN YOU AND RECOGNISES THE MERIT OF YOUR CASE" (ENGLISH) ------------------------------ It didn't stop him from rising to the top of his profession. And Powell has never made an issue of his colour. He says it shouldn't be one...especially in choosing a president.
------------------------------ (POWELL) "WE ARE REALLY AT A POINT IN OUR NATIONAL LIFE WHERE WE HAVE PROGRESSED SO FAR THAT IT'S POSSIBLE A BLACK PERSON CAN BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES" (ENGLISH) (VOX POP) "HE'S NOT RUNNING ON THE RACE ISSUE, HE'S RUNNING ON THE FACT HE CAN MAKE THIS COUNTRY BETTER" CAPTION: LINDA SOFTLI, EXPLORATORY DRAFT POWELL FOR PRESIDENT COMMITTEE "HE TRANSCENDS RACE, RIGHT ABOUT NOW, AMERICA DOESN'T HAVE TIME TO THINK ABOUT RACE, WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT SOMEBODY IN THERE THAT CAN RUN THIS GOVERNMENT AND MAKE THINGS HAPPEN FOR THIS COUNTRY" (ENGLISH) ------------------------------ At the same time, Powell acknowledges what the black community has done for him.
------------------------------ (POWELL) "BUT I DIDN'T DO IT BY MYSELF, I DID IT AS A RESULT OF THE EFFORTS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS AND WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS. I DID IT ON THE SHOULDERS OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS WHO HAVE SERVED THIS NATION IN UNIFORM FOR 300 YEARS" (ENGLISH) ----------------------------- The problem for Powell is that many black voters regard him as being part of a white bureaucracy. And he needs to win their support while somehow holding on to the white voters.
For now, he's been enjoying a honeymoon with the public and the media. But if he stands for election, that's likely to change.
----------------------------- CAPTION: THOMAS MANN, POLITICAL ANALYST, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION "THE MEDIA WILL THEN HAVE A DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITY, WHICH IS TO SCRUTINISE HIS CANDIDACY AND BE AS TOUGH-MINDED WITH HIM AS THEY ARE WITH OTHER CANDIDATES" (ENGLISH) ----------------------------- Powell still has a few weeks to make up his mind...to get organised and fight on his own...or to join the ranks of the Republicans.
The retired general has been dubbed the "reluctant candidate." He may now find this latest call to arms too great a challenge to resist.
------------------------------ Stephanie Vuckovic, Reuters Television, Washington - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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