Powell: "I Am Not Looking For A Job"
WASHINGTON -- Retired Gen. Colin Powell, in conjunction with the presidential inaugural committee, today unveiled a program -- dubbed "Renew America Together" -- to spark a national wave of community service.
The initiative and new Web site -- usaservice.org -- will allow citizens to use online tools similar to those that Barack Obama's team crafted and employed with such success during the campaign. Via the site, users can host or seek out events in their community.
"Volunteering is something you give to your community and to our society," Powell said during a press event at the Mayflower Hotel. "It comes back to you in terms of satisfaction, in terms of feeling good about yourself."
The program will facilitate several events in the Washington area on the eve of the inauguration of the 44th president, which coincides with the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. The Pres.-elect, Michelle Obama, VP-elect Joe Biden and Jill Biden will all participate in local service events that day, Powell said. And presidential inaugural committee spokeswoman Linda Douglass noted that 5,000 volunteer events have been scheduled across the country. She called the new site a hub, a "Craigslist" for community service.
One planned event touted on the site is a project to "Renew the Anacostia" scheduled for 1/19 and sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the No Child Left Inside Coalition. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and former Sen. Paul Sarbanes are expected to attend. Students will clean up trash along the river and plant trees.
Powell said he will support the program in his role as a private citizen, and he urged Americans to pause and examine what they are doing in their own lives to contribute.
"What can each and every one of them do to help someone in need?" he said, adding, "I hope that this crusade grows. I hope that it thrives."
Powell broke with the party he'd long served to endorse Obama during the campaign, citing the Democrat's ability to change the tone in Washington and to bring lawmakers together to solve the nation's problems. At the time he also expressed concerns about the direction of the GOP.
Since then there's been much speculation about Powell's potential interest in an official position in the Obama administration. He said today that's not in the cards.
"I'm not looking for a job," he said. "I think I can help this effort along from the outside."
He added: "I am very happy in private life, thank you very much. ... I've not been offered a job, and I've kind of made it clear I'm not looking for a position."
Powell, who was President Bush's first Secretary of State, was asked today by a reporter for his reaction to Hillary Clinton in the job. Powell called Clinton "a friend."
"Hillary is a most distinguished public servant," he said. " ... I think she'll do a very, very fine job."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
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