As I said before, I would never criticize his patriotism or his right to speak. I just wish he'd kept this under his hat.
Is it fair to ask him to keep all the bad (I.E. not lock-step with Bush) opinions to himself and yet jump on his bandwagon when he does praise Bush or speaks well of him, as happened ~last~ week? FReepers are fickle. Last week, when he agreed with Bush, Powell was a great statesman. Now he's a bad dog.
I don't swing in the breeze. I support Bush in whatever he decides on this issue. But Powell speaks from a learned and valid perspective. He's worth listening to. The presidency, and the Republican party should never be an echo chamber.