America's Reputation

I read a recent quote from John McCain that one of his first tasks, should he be elected President, would be to "restore" America's reputation in the world. Implicit in his statement is the criticism that George W. Bush has harmed America's stature in the world, and that it is a priority that other nations "like" us. I've been fuming ever since I read the quote, but it fits well with other McCain policy positions over the past couple of years. It was McCain who forced President Bush to tie the hands of American military investigators by publicizing which techniques are acceptable for interrogation of military prisoners. I remember then that McCain said we needed to "show the world" that we are different.

I beg to differ. The worldview of those who hate America will not be changed one iota no matter what we do, and the empirical evidence of the superiority of the American way is manifestly obvious to anyone who cares to see. I do not understand this need of American appeasers to be liked. It certainly should not be a matter of national priority. We must however, be respected, and the resolve of our national will should be unquestioned. The lesson Osama bin Laden learned from the American response to Somalia, to the U.S.S. Cole and West African embassy bombings, and other attacks on American interests over the years, was that America would cut its losses and sell out its allies when pushed to the brink. We were viewed as impotent and weak and unwilling to stay a difficult course. Say what you will, and notwithstanding his mistakes, God bless George W. Bush for proving Osama wrong and for showing the world that our resolve is strong, at least for the last six years.

The goodness of America is seen in the millions who want to come here to start new lives, and in the strength and resiliency of our economy. The foreigners who hate America are motivated by interests which are contrary to American interests, and examples include Russia, China, North Korea, and of course the Islamist states. Left-wing European elites oppose America partly from jealousy and partly to further their own economic interests in competition with America's. Can anyone be so gullible as to be deceived by these people? Unfortunately, yes. That the Democrats and some Republicans running for President do not see this obvious truth reflects, I think, an insular mindset that often develops among those who are too comfortable with power and its trappings.

I myself am not fully comfortable with the degree of the Bush policy of intervention and engagement in the world, and I do see problems related, for instance, to American national security from unbridled free trade policy, but the arguments of the Left against such policies are breathtakingly shallow and hypocritical, and I am almost ashamed for the people making them. However, it is in the context of today's Republican party that real ideas are being debated with intellectual rigor, vigor, and respect. Such debates over immigration, trade policy, and education reform are driven intellectually from the Right, and whatever policy coalesces from these debates will be stronger and better because it will have been borne from this crucible of moral and intellectual discourse.

I've written above of my unhappiness with John McCain's policies (while I honor his unquestionably heroic service to our country), and I have grave concerns at this point about each of the top tier GOP Presidential candidates. I've also written about Mike Huckabee, and I really believe that if he could just get a little more exposure, others would find him as appealing as I do. Huckabee did win a recent straw poll among GOP activists in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and I'm hopeful that this portends a move up for him in South Carolina, which is a critical early primary state.

America is the greatest nation the world has ever known, albeit with flaws, but unquestionably great. I am sorry that some who have inherited bountifully from her greatness are so quick to carry water for her enemies, and I pray that come November 2008 we have at least one choice for President who can stand tall for America's interests.