Powell: I'll Consider Cabinet

Retired Gen. Colin Powell says that if a future president asked him to return to government, he would consider it.

At a meeting of the nation's governors Sunday, Powell said that while has ruled out running for office or serving as vice president, he has not ruled out serving in a Cabinet post.

"I was a service person for many, many years and if at some future time a president would ask me to return to government I would consider that," Powell said at a news conference. "That is a conversation that has not yet happened."

Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting George W. Bush is seriously considering Powell as a potential secretary of state, campaign officials have said. Powell, a foreign policy adviser to Bush, knows he would be at the top of the Texas governor's wish list if he is elected, the aides say.

Powell, a featured speaker at the National Governors' Association summer meeting, said he and Bush have had "lots of conversations," but declined to say whether they involved a potential Cabinet post. "Those conversations are private," Powell said.

Campaign officials say Bush, in what would be a break with tradition, may settle on candidates for some Cabinet posts before the November election and make his intentions clear in September or October. Aligning himself with Powell or vanquished rival Arizona Sen. John McCain could help Bush convince voters he has the stature to be president, GOP officials say.