>>Powell will never run because his wife is a staunch Democrat (he stated so personally in 2000).
>>
>He apparently made that decision in 1995, and has stuck to it ever since:
>http://www.aarpmagazine.org/people/colin_powell.html
>
>Q: Speaking of that: given that there are issues in this country that need fixing, and you seem to have a vision, under any circumstances would you…
>A: No.
>
>Q: ...run for president? Under no circumstances? Even though you said in your book you would not rule out a political future?
>A: I took a hard look at it in '95, really never expected that level of interest in me as a political figure, but the book, and my book tour, exploded that interest. And I realized that this was not something I truly wanted to do. I never woke up any morning saying, "My God, I can't wait to get out on the campaign trail." I don't have that passion. And it was not something my family wanted to do, meaning my wife. But it was basically my decision. We never had to have the final climactic family meeting over it. We finally stopped listening to everybody who was trying to tell us what to do with our lives and said, "What do we want to do?" And not a lot of us thought we wanted to do this. So it was a mutual decision.
>
>Which is really too bad.

Unfortunately, that's the way it always is. The only type of politician we ever get a chance to vote for is the type who lusts for power. The ones who don't have that lust, don't run. And it doesn't matter on which side of the fence one sits.