Powell, The Noncommittal Meerkat Manor Fan

ASPEN -- A group of reporters caught up wit Ret.Gen. Colin Powell as he strolled along a sidewalk outside our Allstate Exchange tent. We asked Mr. Powell about his meeting last week with Barack Obama, which drew a laugh. "Well, I also met with John, but nobody reported that," he said. The meeting took place at McCain's home in Arlington. A courtesy call was how Mr. Powell described both meetings. Powell said that he would not attend either party's conventions and offered no hint as to when -- or whether -- he might endorse. (My guess: probably not.)

Much of the subsequent conversation was off the record, so there we are.

Powell said he was doing his best not to make news; he joked that he put a moratorium on political television in his house from 5pm to 10pm and watched Animal Planet instead. It seems that Colin Powell is a fan of Meerkat Manor.