President “Bush decided to make one more effort to convince the world of Iraq’s perfidy, and on January 27 [2003] he asked [Secretary of State Colin] Powell to present evidence to the United Nations. …’We’ve really got to make the case and I want you to make it,’ Bush said. ‘You have the credibility to do this. Maybe they’ll believe you.’ Like Bush, [Vice President Dick] Cheney was all too aware that Powell exceeded both of them in international credibility. ‘You’ve got high poll ratings,’ he told Powell after discussing the presentation. ‘You can afford to lose a few points.’ ”
– Peter Baker, Days of Fire, Page 242