"People around the world have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."
- Bill Clinton, 2008 Democratic National Convention
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"People around the world have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."
- Bill Clinton, 2008 Democratic National Convention
Really? I wonder if the Tutsi would agree.
Do you have a point, Neuro-conservative? Wait, I think I see what your point is. Because Bill Clinton was president at the time and the U.S. didn't intervene in Rwanda he is being disingenuous. Is that about right? If that's your point then I can only respond with Darfur. Which is worse: To not recognize a problem until it is too late to do something about it? Or to recognize the problem and choose to do nothing about it?
I've always been more impressed by the might of the speech than by the speech of the mighty.
Conventions usually bring out the best in oratory. The line is great, and the idea behind it should be taken seriously. The reality is that Clinton and just about all of our chief executives have taken the opposite course, or none at all, when it was politically expedient.
The use of power is itself part of the example. Military power can be used to stop genocide or repel an invasion. It can also be used to prop up dictators, funnel rich contracts to war profiteers, or, as some idiot from the American Enterprise institute once proposed, to "throw a small country against the wall" just because we can. The former example says "Citizens of our country are citizens of the planet, and we will defend ourselves and other people against thugs and warlords." The latter example says "We can do whatever we want to anyone we choose, so shut up or you're next."
Do the words "Kosovo" and "Somalia" evoke something to Mr Clinton's mind?