Bombs over Silicon Valley

Colin Powell is joining a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Today's New York Times has the story, but when you get down to the details of what he'll actually do, it's nearly as vague as what Osama is supposed to have been doing for Saddam (or vice-versa):

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers ... [Powell] will serve as a coach to its entrepreneurs and an in-house expert on international affairs, ...
Venture capitalists typically spend most of their days listening to entrepreneurs seeking to raise millions of dollars or helping companies in which they have already invested. Mr. Powell, who will maintain his residence in McLean, Va., and work out of a nearby office in Alexandria, will not devote much time to either of those activities ... "This man, I think more than any other," Mr. Doerr [another partner] said, "has deep insights and offers strategic advice into leadership. And building and developing teams. And winning even you're up against formidable opponents or challenges."

Mr. Powell will meet with his partners once every three months - and be available by phone and e-mail message when necessary - to offer advice on prospective investments.

Mr. Powell is also part of a group trying to purchase the Washington Nationals baseball team and is involved with a number of nonprofit groups. "The nice thing about this arrangement with Kleiner Perkins is it allows me time for these other activities," he said.

So after all that, what do we learn: that he's joining a venture capital firm, but won't do any of the usual venture capital stuff, that he'll go to 4 meetings a year and check his e-mail, that he's not even moving to Cali, that he'll provide tutelage on global affairs (they can't spring for a Financial Times subscription in Palo Alto?). And oh yes, his track record in handling formidable opponents -- by coming up with the idea of bombing them to smithereens from 60,000 feet. A real outside the box thinker for sure.

And what else has this craven, lying, sack of sh*t done over the years? His brilliant powerpoint presentation to the UN Security Council, complete with props like Saddam's bio-weapons vials. He was the good soldier who can't handle mischievous dinner seating arrangements. For the aforementioned Washington Nationals bid, he's teamed up with the dude who counted Jews for Richard Nixon. And speaking of Nixon, Powell invoked a supposed precedent of Secretaries of State staying out of domestic politics, which was contradicted by his Nixonian predecessor having used Derry's Bloody Sunday massacre as an opportunity to bash Nixon's Democratic opponent.

On the other hand, he did reveal an ability to maintain a poker face as Dubya mispronounced election as "erection" a few months back. Handy for the ribald humour of these tech whiz kids that he'll be running into.