Powell Expresses Concerns Over Obama’s Packed Agenda
By Kate Phillips

In an interview to be broadcast this Sunday on CNN, former secretary of state Colin Powell said that he had recently cautioned Obama administration officials about taking on way too many costly initiatives that were causing the nation’s debt to spiral.

Prompted by a clip from his 1996 speech to the Republican National Convention, in which he promoted limited government and limited taxes, Mr. Powell — who broke with his party and endorsed President Obama in the election last year — offered his concerns about the new administration’s multi-pronged agenda in an economic downturn.

John King, the host of CNN’s “State of the Union” began the questioning by listing several of the issues on the president’s plate: “But has the president of the United States, in that regard, when it comes to financial institution bailouts, General Motors bailouts, spending by government, whether it’s health care reform, whether it’s the debate now about climate change, when it comes to spending and the reach and role of government, does President Obama meet the test Colin Powell laid out in ‘96?”

According to excerpts released in advance by CNN, Mr. Powell replied, in part, that he was no longer fond of slogans like “limited government.” But he added, “The right answer is, give me a government that works. Keep it as small as possible. Keep the tax burden on the American people as small as possible, but at the same time, have government that is solving the problems of the people.”

But Mr. Powell, the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the first President Bush and former President Clinton as well as Secretary of State during part of the second President Bush’s two terms, then moved on to the current problems facing Mr. Obama’s administration:

Now, I think one of the challenges that President Obama has now is that he’s got so many things on the table, and these are issues that the American people find important, health care and so many other issues. But I think one of the cautions that has to be given to the president — and I’ve talked to some of his people about this — is that you can’t have so many things on the table that you can’t absorb it all. And we can’t pay for it all.

And I never would have believed that we would have budgets that are running into the multi-trillions of dollars, and we are amassing a huge, huge national debt that, if we don’t pay for in our lifetime, our kids and grandkids and great grandchildren will have to pay for it.

So, I think the president, as he moves forward with his initiatives has to start really taking a very, very hard look at what the cost of all this is. And, how much additional bureaucracy and will it be effective bureaucracy be needed to make all of this happen?

Although he said he was on good terms with Mr. Obama and kept in touch with him, Mr. Powell’s cautionary criticisms offer another voice to both critics and supporters expressing worries about the expense associated with overhauling the health care system, one of the president’s top priorities. Congressional lawmakers return to Capitol Hill next week, under pressure to control the projected costs for legislation emanating in particular from the Senate Finance Committee.

At a town-hall meeting earlier this week, Mr. Obama tried to present his plans as cost-saving measures that would ultimately reduce the rising costs of health care as well as cover those who are uninsured.

The Times’s Jackie Calmes laid out the issues facing both the Finance panel and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which released a revised draft bill this week that included lower cost estimates under its proposal.

Asked if he were worried about the costliness of such programs going forward, Mr. Powell said instead that he was “a little concerned.” He added: “I’m concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them.”

Shifting to more popular culture news, Mr. Powell was also asked to characterize the meaning of Michael Jackson’s contributions. His take:

He was a great entertainer and he crossed so many lines with his skill and the skill of his brothers. I always remember him most vividly as a young boy with his brothers — the Jackson 5. These fresh, exciting kids with the fro’s in the early ’70s and singing those wonderful songs — “ABC” — don’t ask me to sing it.

But that is what I remember about Michael. During the heyday when he was doing “Thriller” and the other things I would (be) either in Vietnam or Korea or somewhere. So, he’s not quite of my generation but his art spanned three generations and is worthy of all the tribute that he is receiving for his art.

Yes, there were some challenges in his life. Yes, there was a great deal of controversy about him. But he’s now passed on. Let’s celebrate his art.

And I never would have believed that we would have budgets that are running into the multi-trillions of dollars, and we are amassing a huge, huge national debt that, if we don’t pay for in our lifetime, our kids and grandkids and great grandchildren will have to pay for it.

What a dumb ass. Obama was telling everyone for a whole year he was going to do all this, and Colin TURNCOAT Powell went public and supoprted Obama. They are both fools!

You're calling Powell a turncoat?? bcs he voted for obama?..... Powell is a bigger man than dubya was and is the national debts times more patriotic than dubya is or ever will be..... the fact that he is a general says it all....

Powell will be welcomed into Jesus' temple million times before you will!

whatever

dick cheney says he should still be out of the old boys club

anyway this is just more poli -tricking from the old general. strategy, tactics are clearly nothing new to his mighty mind. what looks like a flip-flop or error to us plebes is just another wily political move on his battle map.

The guy who cuts my lawn has a Temple?

I am paying him too much.

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