Leadership counts

"Mr Gorbachev tear down this wall".

How clearly I remember this quote by Ronald Reagan during the height of the Cold War with the Soviets. Whether you were a Reagan supporter or not, you could not help but feel confident this country was in good hands and we had a leader that was strong, one who projected the exceptionalism of America, and one who would defend this country no matter what.

At his famous meeting with Gorbachev in Reykjavik, Iceland, Reagan walked away from a deal that would have seen a drastic reduction in intermediate and intercontinental missiles on the American and Soviet sides of the Iron Curtain. But the Soviets insisted that as part of the deal Reagan cancel his planned "star wars' missile defense shield. He diplomatically told Gorbachev to "shove it" and against the advice of his own staff walked away from the agreement.

Many historians feel this was the "beginning of the end" of the Cold War leading to the fall of the Soviet Union.

Unlike Barack Obama, I am not ashamed to say the USA is the most admired, the most powerful, and the country most envied by the rest of the world. To paraphrase a letter to the editor in a recent Wall Street Journal; "With the success of this country has come a culture of generosity in foreign affairs, sometimes in self-interest, but notably, sometimes not". In the event of another "World War", what would Europe, Israel, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, or many other countries around the world do without the USA for protection?

I agree with Ron Paul that we are not the "policemen" or "nation builders" of the world. The Iraq war was a disaster, and most likely Afghanistan will go down in history as the same. But how quickly we forget the genocide in Bosnia during the mid-90's, while the Europeans stood by before the USA and the UK moved in and stopped it.

This is an exceptional country, and our leader should keep reinforcing that attitude rather than apologizing for what he thinks are our faults.

Obama's latest "off mic" comments were more telling than anything. In the comments caught by the mic he urged Russian outgoing President Medvedev to tell incoming Russian President Vladimir Putin to give him time:
"On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved – but it's important for him to give me space."
Medvedev replied:
"Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you."
Obama then elaborated:
"This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility."
Medvedev responded:
"I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir."

Can you imagine Reagan "bowing" to the Soviets like this (or could you imagine him bowing to the king of Saudi Arabia)?  This is our weak President in action. Do we really think the Soviets will negotiate as "friends" or in our best interests? Russia like the Middle East only responds to power and strength.


Leadership counts. We may not have another Ronald Reagan for a while, but hopefully this November we will elect a new leader of this great country...how could we not improve?