Born: April 5, 1937, New York, NY

Education: City College of New York, B.A., 1958; Army Command and General Staff College, 1967–68; Georgetown University, M.B.A., 1971; National War College, 1975

Political pundits saw Powell's presidential capital as second to none, arguing that he would be peerless on foreign policy. But he declined to seek the Republican nomination for president in 1996, declaring “that political life requires a calling that I do not hear.”

His journey to success evokes the American Dream. A black youth from the East Bronx, he attended City College, won distinction in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, and graduated second lieutenant. Powell worked hard and excelled, rising through the army's officer ranks to national security advisor, four-star general, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He co-commanded the Persian Gulf War and became the first black secretary of state.

Powell made difficult decisions. His troop deployment to Somalia backfired; another, to the former Yugoslavia, washed out. He opposed President Clinton's move to end exclusion of gays from the Armed Forces and to reduce the military budget. The antigay implications of the “Don't ask, don't tell” policy (a compromise) could have been a future campaign problem for him. He endorsed affirmative action, but remained silent on the Bush administration's support of anti-affirmative action suits against the University of Michigan. Sources argue that he reluctantly supported the Iraq War.