To the editor:

Allowing Secretary of State Colin Powell to resign is a bad idea on the part of President Bush.

On the eve of peace talks by Israel and Palestine, this change couldn’t have come at a worse time. Mr. Powell was the sole member of the Bush team having diplomatic skills necessary to give Israel and Palestine a fighting chance for peace.

While Mr. Powell’s successor, Ms. Rice, is a woman of great intellect, is she the person for the job? Not in the eyes of much of the world. In a position requiring skills in “world diplomacy,” Ms. Rice’s intellect and expertise in Russian affairs may be inadequate in dealing with North Korea and the Middle East.

Here’s hoping Ms. Rice proves this writer wrong and makes the United States proud.

In order to do so, she will have to lighten up some and learn how to smile more.

Robert Hinton,

Lawrence