Powell had an engaging sense of humor and could poke fun at himself and some of the sterotypes of the State Department.  On one occasion, Cheney, Rice and I were at the State Department for one of our regular lunches, which we took turns hosting.  The rest of us periodically kidded Powell abou ththe State Department’s lavish meals.  This time when we arrived, Powell had the table set elegantly with cloth napkins and matching silverware, and at each of our place settings silver platters with matching silver covers awaited.  After we all took our seats, hovering waiters in tuxedos pulled of the silver covers simultaneously is a dramatic fashion.  Underneath we found brown paper bags with sandwiches in them.  Powell grinned, and we roared with laughter.

From Known and Unknown by Donald Rumsfeld

print