MSNBC just reported that Powell asked (more likely, TOLD) Jackass not to go. Good. Jackson, like Al Sharpton, has become a cartoon figure, a joke.
He doesn't represent the United States: Jesse Jackson represents only Jesse Jackson. Jesse Jackson is only interested in promoting Jesse Jackson.
He saw this trip, not as a way to advance the interests of the United States, by as a diversionary tool, hoping that some cheap, PR victory would finally wash away the stain of his filthy, abominable personal and financial corruption.
Can anyone tell me how a member of the Taliban phoned Jackson? How did they get his home number? (Is he even living at home?) Most of us U.S. citizens can't get trough to him... Was he sitting by the phone or did they have to track him down? Did they leave a message for him on the answering machine with a return number? What is there to prove that Jackson is not making this up? Serious question...