We need to focus more on simply providing the promised bread and butter and peace, than preaching the benefits of democracy.
I have totally believed in this, down to my roots and everything that I stand for.

That is why Bush's proclamations of "Democracy for Iraq and victory for the American people" used to rub me so freaking raw.

Everytime we presume to know that the rest of the world wants democracy, and it is put forth in images, broadcasts, executive summaries, talking points, and sound bites, we flip some sort of switch in the minds of the exact folks we are trying to influence.

It's like that classic case of "yeah, you had me going for a little while, until you opened your mouth and started talking."

This thread just reminded me that I have not had the opportunity to rant against so many of the idiotic things that I think the previous administration did in the name of democracy. It is Bush's actions that make Obama's seem so strikingly different and unusual in terms of foreign policy. Should have been that course all along, methinks.