re: More
In his speech last Tuesday, Obama invoked "a new era of engagement and diplomacy" and avoided the term "war on terror." As former President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "the only way to have a friend is to be one."
Roosevelt's Fourth Inauguration Speech, January 20, 1945:
"And so today, in this year of war, 1945, we have learned lessons--at a fearful cost--and we shall profit by them.
We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations far away. We have learned that we must live as men, not as ostriches, nor as dogs in the manger.
We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community.
We have learned the simple truth, as Emerson said, that "The only way to have a friend is to be one."
I don't think Roosevelt was thinking along the same lines as Steingart is. I can only imagine FDR's reaction in January of 1945 to some idiot who told him "...the world doesn't consist of good and evil, but of countries with varying interests and values. Intelligent foreign policy attempts to create a balance."