Recently, Bob Fry posted:

"Jose" == Jose writes:

Jose respected by the world. We have squandered whatever
Jose credibility we had and it won't be coming back in the next
Jose fifty years.

I don't think so. Most of the world recognizes it is Bush and his
team that is acting in a rougish fashion. A level-headed moderate
president, not driven by religous or other dogma, could do a lot for
both the US and its relations with the world.

Alas, we don't seem to produce those candidates, and when we do, the
Midwest and South reject them.

As I see it, the problem is that while critical fundamental principles
guiding our nation should not be up to the whim of particular politicians
or political parties, the reality is that they are. Therefore, once we
have shown a willingness to act in ways that are morally repugnant, there
is no guarantee that we won't do it again when the mood suits us. It is
completely reasonable for those outside our borders is to expect that at
some point we will again act in the worst ways that we have in the past.
50 years may not be long enough to provide convince others of our good
intentions, if one considers that we are the only nation on the planet to
nuke somebody, and we are still actively developing ways to nuke somebody
else.

A question to anyone in this discussion: if *you* were the leader of North
Korea, having US troops on your southern border for the last 50+ years;
with the leader of the US calling you one of the "Axis of Evil"; and
having invaded and destroyed a sovereign nation (also on the "Axis of
Evil" list, btw) on the most obviously bogus of pretenses, how would *you*
respond to protect your population? As I see it, it's a good thing NK
doesn't have any oil.

Neil