Restoring America's Reputation

The Next President Must Make the U.S. a Force for Good Again
The New York Times, October 18, 2008
(1) Even among those who disagree on every other aspect of this election - from those
who find Barack Obama dangerously inexperienced to those who see John McCain as
frighteningly irresponsible, from those who can't stand Joe Biden's grin to those who
can't abide Sarah Palin's wink - there is a common hope. Partisans of all types can
realistically imagine that the next administration will improve this nation's standing in
the world, if only because the last eight years have seen it decline to a degree
unknown in modern times. From the bottom, there's nowhere to go but up.
(2) By any measure, the Bush administration has plumbed new depths to discover
how badly the United States can be regarded on the international stage. It has ignored
the United Nations, laughed off climate change and allowed anti-Americanism in
Latin America to deepen and spread. It invaded Afghanistan for good reason, then
allowed that conflict to spiral downward. It invaded Iraq under false pretenses and
succeeded in antagonizing the Muslim world and clear-thinking people of all faiths.
(3) Its chief mistake, however, has been its abdication of American values in the
misguided attempt to project American power. Today, this nation possesses more
military might than has ever been assembled under any flag, but Osama bin Laden
wanders free, testament to the limits of force. That is a bitter reminder of what we all
know intuitively: This country's true strength is not its force of arms but its ability to
inspire and to lead.
(4) The United States emerged as the world's dominant power after World War II, the
victor in the Cold War, because it exemplified mindful freedom, liberty tempered by
the Constitution. Here, the majority elected presidents (usually), while a shared
commitment to civil rights protected the minority we integrated schools, expanded the
franchise, empowered the poor. Those actions did not go unnoticed by the world. First
allies, then skeptics turned toward freedom and human rights, toward America.
(5) Under George W. Bush, we have abandoned those values in pursuit of strong-
armed advantage. Candidate Bush promised a humble foreign policy. President Bush
brought us the Bush doctrine, the self-appointed right of the United States to
preemptively invade nations that pose a threat to its interests. Candidate Bush
presented himself as a compassionate conservative. President Bush built the detention
center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Candidate Bush scorned nation building. President
Bush has occupied Iraq for almost six years.
(6) Those travesties and deceptions have taken their toll. By early 2007, the BBC
reported that confidence in the United States was sharply on the wane. Just 29% of
those polled in 18 countries viewed the U.S. mainly as a force for good in the world.
Clear majorities disapproved of U.S. policy toward Israel, Iraq, Iran and North Korea,
as well as the prison at Guantanamo and the administration's stance on global
warming. This year, with a presidential election underway and Bush headed for the
exits, the world's impression of the United States, as measured by such surveys, crept
up a bit, but it remains dispiriting to consider that fewer than a third of those polled
see this nation as more good than bad.
(7) The United States has suffered in world opinion before. We well remember the
protests in Europe over Ronald Reagan's proposed deployment of a neutron bomb and
European demands for a nuclear freeze. And few can forget the anguish caused by the
U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
(8) But today's difficulties are deeper, more complex. And it falls to two very different
men to chart the way out. Thankfully, we have every confidence that either of the
candidates will improve our nation's standing. As noted earlier in this series, both
McCain and Obama favor closing Guantanamo, a prerequisite to the restoration of
America's international reputation. Beyond that, the two diverge, offering profoundly
different world views - McCain espousing a commitment to American might and
Obama relying on the power of negotiation as well as the humility of strength.
(9) Each candidate has, on the long road to election day, slipped up. Obama's
willingness to pursue Al Qaeda in Pakistan, even in violation of that nation's
sovereignty, sounds suspiciously like preemptive action; his enthusiasm for
negotiation with leaders of deplorable regimes is promising, though also perilous.
There is the risk of legitimizing lunatics by allowing them to share a stage with an
American president. McCain, meanwhile, seems to savor his own belligerence - he
has joked about bombing Iran and mused that he's willing to stay in Iraq for 100
years. Those are hardly the sentiments of a man determined to reclaim America's
moral authority.
(10) Ultimately, the reputation of the United States abroad depends only partly on its
foreign policy. Its restoration also will require a recommitment to ordered liberty, to
the return of balance to our institutions. The next president must not only end our
foreign misadventures but aver the power that Bush has amassed to wage them. A
strong America, one worthy of respect at home and abroad, is one that grants those in
its custody their rights, that declines to spy on citizens without warrants. It requires a
president willing to share power with Congress and the courts and to subject himself
to public scrutiny and accountability. Fervently we ask that the next administration
lead us back to a position of honor in the world.