Powell Quashes Veep Talk

Retired Gen. Colin Powell said Tuesday he would not run for vice president, but did not rule out possible service in the Cabinet of the next president.

Responding to a question during a broadcast from the Reserve Officers Association, Powell said he gave the idea of running for office "the greatest consideration you can give to an issue," but he said he stands by his 1995 decision not to run for president and to stay out of elective politics.

Powell, 62 and a registered Republican, is now being mentioned as a possible running mate for George W. Bush, the likely Republican presidential nominee.

"You have to have a certain feeling for it, a commitment, passion," said Powell. "And if I'd said I had it, I wouldn't have been honest to myself, I wouldn't have been honest to the American people.

"I have no desire for political office," he said.

But he did not rule out serving in the new Cabinet. The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has been mentioned as a possible candidate for secretary of state or defense.

"Any president that comes to you and says, 'I need help, and Would you be interested in performing this job?' you have to see whether or not it's something you feel you can do for the president," Powell said. "Whether or not you say yes is another matter, but you have to consider it."

Powell currently divides his time between public speaking and running "America's Promise," a nonprofit organization dedicated to youth issues.