NPR : Politically Speaking : Bush's Black Legacy: "My bet is that history will recall the administration's relationship with blacks for bringing black people into the highest levels of public policy. There is no guarantee that Powell, Rice or any white person wins every fight among the power players around the president. But in order to win, in order to influence, you have to get in the ring. And until the current administration, the most elite circle of advisors to the most powerful man in the world, the foreign policy apparatus, might as well have had a 'Whites Only' sign on the door.
Once he leaves the government, Powell is on his way to being the next Henry Kissinger, a former secretary of state widely regarded as a wise man on world affairs. Rice, once she leaves, will always be a candidate to be secretary of state in any Republican administration. And once President Bush leaves office, history may recall his relationship with black Americans for the fact that he opened doors."