Mona Charen: The real world intrudes

Washington Times ^ | December 29, 2007 | By Mona Charen

[JohnHuang2]

The next-to-last assassination attempt on Benazir Bhutto came on Dec. 13, when a man in the crowd got the former prime minister's attention. He was holding a 1-year-old baby — Mrs. Bhutto said later she thought it was a girl — and tried to hand the child across the sea of bodies.

(snip)

In Foreign Affairs magazine, Mr. Huckabee wrote: "Much like a top high school student, if it [the U.S.] is modest about its abilities and achievements, if it is generous in helping others, it is loved. But if it attempts to dominate others, it is despised." This, mind you, is Mr. Huckabee's bid for foreign policy credibility — Foreign Affairs is a wonkish publication. So is he serious? Does he really believe that international relations are governed by likability (a Huckabee strong suit admittedly) instead of power, self-interest, security, and ideology?

And what exactly does Mr. Huckabee mean when he accuses the U.S. of attempting to "dominate" others? Mr. Huckabee approved of the war in Iraq — a war of liberation, not domination, however clumsily it may have been prosecuted at times. But then, it's hard to know exactly where he does stand since he has also echoed leftist critics who claim that the Iraq war has been a "distraction" from the war on terror. Certainly Mr. Huckabee's determination to close Guantanamo seems to be a bid for international popularity.

Perhaps the high school reference was a one-time faux pas? No, the man seems to perpetually compare international relations and conflicts to personal spats. "We haven't had diplomatic relationships with Iran in almost 30 years," Mr. Huckabee told radio host Hugh Hewitt, "that's most of my adult life. And a lot of good it's done. Putting this in human terms, all of us know that when we stop

[rightinthemiddle]

Good article.

I would have him over for coffee, but The Huckster should not be our nominee.

[3AngelaD]

He is sounding more and more like Jimmy Carter, ignorant of history and of human nature, divorced from reality. We simply cannot afford to put the amateurs in charge. She sums it up nicely: The mullahs who rule Iran, the commissars who rule China, the dictators who control most of the Arab and African nations, and most of all, the terrorists who sent the world a deadly reminder when they killed Bhutto Thursday are not waiting for an invitation to the mixer. And to nominate for president someone who thinks so would be a disaster.