Colin Powell Rejected Bush, Clinton Offers

President George Bush asked Colin Powell to become director of the Central Intelligence Agency and President Clinton recruited him to be secretary of state, but the retired general turned down the offers, according to a report Sunday in Newsweek magazine.

Moreover, during the 1992 presidential campaign, Washington lawyer and Clinton associate Vernon Jordan asked Powell to consider being Clinton’s running mate, according to this week’s issue of the news magazine. The report was based on an advance copy of Powell’s autobiography, the magazine said.

Newsweek wrote that Powell’s book, “My American Journey,” indicates he’s interested in running for the presidency, either as an independent or as a moderate Republican. The magazine said Powell makes clear “he’s no fan of the religious right.”