In fact, Powell suggested, the most notable thing about the book was Mr. Cheney's characterization of it.

"What really sort of got my attention was this way in which he characterized it: it's going to cause heads to explode," he said. "That's quite a visual. And in fact, it's the kind of headline I would expect to come out of a gossip columnist, or the kind of headline you might see one of the supermarket tabloids write. It's not the kind of headline I would have expected to come from a former Vice President of the United States of America."

He added: "I think Dick overshot the runway."