I have been active in international business for 14 years and while the telephone is helpful, nothing replaces face-to-face meetings. Then again, I suppose when you're working for a leader who doesn't mind ignoring or pissing off the world community, why bother traveling? What's he going to do? Tell the foreign leaders that Bush really is interested in hearing what the world has to say when everone already knows that it just isn't true? Sounds like Powell really was not up for the job to begin with though, because he has previously said that "having seen much of the world and having lived on planes for years, I am no longer much interested in travel." Sorry Colin, but it comes with the job. If he doesn't agree with the message of his boss and he doesn't like the necessary travel, why take the position?
"Powell has sharply cut back on travel, especially compared with his immediate predecessors. Including his recent trip to Sudan and Indonesia, Powell traveled 180 days in his first 42 months as secretary. Madeleine K. Albright, Warren M. Christopher and James A. Baker III averaged 46 percent more days at similar points in their tenures.
Some leading foreign policy specialists -- and even some State Department officials -- have wondered whether Powell's travel schedule has in some ways contributed to the United States' falling image abroad. They argue that behind-the-scenes actions, such as telephone calls, carry much less impact overseas in an era when public diplomacy is increasingly important in advancing foreign policy goals."
