And a Monumental Change for American Diplomacy! And A Change of Scene for George W. B**h (Paraguay)

The American Diplomacy Dream Team

Sometimes, when you go to a site for a collection of photographs (like Flickr), it's amazing what you DON'T see: I searched Flickr.com with the word "diplomacy." I looked at several hundred photos and cartoons, before I found an image of George W. B**h. The image wasn't very flattering. I then searched for "cowboy diplomacy." Of the 10 possible photos, two were referenced to B**h. Neither were flattering. Yesterday we posted a piece about B**h's "gauntlet of shame" at the G20 Summit. In the attached video, you can see particular scorn by Chancellor Angela Merkel (Germany). Whenever I see her, I think of Georgie's impromptu "neck rub" of Merkel and her bewildered (almost frightened) look. The Diplomatic Dimwit had struck again. Even today, you can see in B**h's eyes the look of cluelessness. "Why don't people like me?" Georgie, it's probably because you're considered the source of everything that went wrong in the last eight years.

• You intended war the day you became President.
• You used a national calamity as an excuse to unseat another head of state.
• You lied about "weapons of mass destruction."
• You constantly placed inept cronies in positions of responsibility.
• You depended on the advice of only one man.
• You did not heed the advice of the rest of your advisers.
• You did not listen to the voice of the people.
  
• You constantly placed big business and big oil ahead of the rest of the nation.
• You studiously (but not judiciously) deregulated almost everything in site.
• You conducted official duties in utmost secrecy.
• You kept "suspected" terrorists in confinement without due process.
• Your foreign policy "Doctrine" was composed entirely of pre-emptive strikes.
• You approved of torture.
  

And you were arrogant about it all.

Get thee to Paraguay, George B**h, before the public storms your obscenely expensive "Memorial Library" in hopes of finding out the truth: just how inept and corrupt you really were. Or storms your father's Library to find that your old records as Governor prove you were inept and corrupt back then.

On January 20, 2009, the 44th President of the United States will take the Oath of Office. His proposed cabinet members will undergo scrutiny and (hopefully) approval by the Senate. One of those cabinet members will be our new Secretary of State: the highest ranking ambassador and diplomat our country has. With the world in such precarious unrest - unrest which George B**h fulminated and abetted - the pressures upon the Secretary of State will be incalculable. The Secretary will try to patch up the wounds inflicted by bad diplomacy or, in most cases, no diplomacy at all. It will take years for America to stand proudly with other nations and not be looked upon as the big bully the 43rd President made of it.


Yesterday, strong rumors went about that President-elect Obama was going to offer the post of Secretary of State to Hillary Rodham Clinton. The objections from the Right, of course, came swiftly: her husband, former President Bill Clinton has too many irons in the fire with his Foundation and his connections to world leaders.

I say: GREAT! To repair the damage of the last eight years will take a strong, strong team: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton. If Bill Clinton gives strong evidence that he has given up all financial benefits from his connections and that he will not interfere with Obama's policies, but instead upholds them, this could be the team that could not only set the course for a better, more diplomatic America, it could also be a force which installs peace to the Middle East and Africa as well. Adding incredibly intelligent and sophisticated spouses to the team will help to solidify their efforts.

Just a thought.

Honest diplomacy doesn't need to look pretty, but it DOES need to look sincere.