The Only Voice I Listen To Is The President's.

In his office last week, Colin Powell sat down with TIME reporters and talked about his job and his place on the Bush team. Excerpts:

TIME: What's been your worst surprise?

Powell: Nothing really shocked or stunned me walking in. I wanted to do everything that I could to make sure the morale [in the State Department] was high. And I was taken aback that so much needed to be done. But in about a week's time, we'll close the registration period for people to apply for the Foreign Service. And it's going to be the highest number in 15 years...

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