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It’s been said
that politics is
like a pendulum
because it
swings between
two extremes.
Over the past
eight months or
so in
Washington, we
have certainly
seen that to be
the case.
Take foreign
policy. If
foreign policy
in the Bush
Administration
was marked by a
fierce
determination to
safeguard
American lives
and interests
regardless of
what other
nations thought,
the early months
of the Obama
Administration
have revealed a
clear
willingness to
consider other
nations’
interests
alongside our
own.
But as this
summer has
shown, diplomacy
has its limits.
From the
protests in Iran
to the unrest in
Honduras, events
have transpired
that no amount
of talking could
have stopped.
And so we are
left with the
question – what
should the
United States do
now? To help us
answer this
question, we
feature essays
by two leading
voices in each
of their
respective
fields.
From academia,
professor and
Iranian-American
activist Elham
Gheytanchi
discusses the
protests in her
native land and
how they are
being led by the
brave women of
that country who
have long been
oppressed. From
the arena of
policy and
politics, the
top Republican
on the House
Foreign Affairs
Committee,
Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen,
writes about the
slide toward
tyranny in Latin
America and her
belief that the
U.S. government
needs to take a
stronger stand
in support of
freedom.
This edition of
The Ripon
Forum also
features a
little-noticed
speech that
former Secretary
of State
Condoleezza Rice
recently gave at
the Reagan
Library. In it,
she not only
lays out a
strong case for
“Why Democracy
Matters,” but
also explains,
in a question
and answer
session
afterward, why
she believes the
current Iranian
regime is
nothing more
than a “hollow
shell.”
The European
Union’s
distinguished
Ambassador to
the United
States, the
Honorable John
Bruton, provides
an excellent
assessment of
the EU-U.S
partnership,
while David
Satter of the
Hudson Institute
looks at the
President’s
recent trip to
Russia and what
it did – and,
more
specifically,
did not –
accomplish.
Also, in a pair
of essays,
Josette Sheeran
of the World
Food Program and
Carolyn Crowley
Meub of the
non-profit Pure
Water for the
World look at
the formidable
challenges
facing each –
global food
shortages, and
the lack of
clean drinking
water around the
world.
On the domestic
front, this
edition of the
Forum
also features
Congressman
Frank Wolf
writing about
entitlement
reform and
Senator Mel
Martinez writing
about TARP
transparency.
Former Governor
and Cabinet
Secretary
Christine Todd
Whitman pens a
timely essay on
why President
Obama is
hemorrhaging
support in the
political
center, while
Republican
pollster
Christine
Matthews writes
an equally
important piece
about minivan
Moms and why
Republicans need
their support.
As always, we
hope you enjoy
this edition of
The Ripon
Forum and
encourage you to
contact us at
editor@riponsociety.org
with any
thoughts or
ideas you may
have.
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