Anticipation is Half the Fun!

Yet another classic posting from Harry. We've been in existence here at APR for about a week and if one theme has become clear it's Harold's ability to ramp up to an analytical point but then drop it like a bad habit.

A Trip Down Memory Lane:
"I will post more on their interesting discussion later" (He doesn't.)
"So, let me use this as a starting point for discussion" (The discussion never happens.)
"Ok, after reading your comments, I have ten points to which to reply." (We've seen zero.)
"Much more on this topic to come." (Sure.)

In any case, I assume Harry is about to make the point that the President hit one diamond in the miles of rough in the State of the Union by emphasizing the importance of "democracy." I'm torn on this issue for three reasons. A) I wish we weren't ignoring all that was heinous in the speech by focusing on what was arguably good; B) I really have no training or academic expertise in the international politic; and C) I'm still not sure what sane American is anti-democracy -- unless the situation isn't ready for it I suppose, but that's a different issue.

And, in fact, the point I want to make. If Harry is going to insist on making this a point d'jour, I may as well respond in kind. So, to make up for my dearth of knowledge, I read a piece from the Heritage Foundation -- if you need to debate with foreign-policy conservatives, you must think like a foreign-policy conservative -- and I was taken a bit aback. The piece, written by a person of indeterminate religion, makes the point I've been parroting for days: "The U.S. must (promote democracy) realistically, taking into account its own national interests, as well as the complexity of foreign political cultures and traditions. A healthy respect for the limits of its own power and for the history, religions, and politics of the Middle East can only do America good." This makes sense to me (unlike the Heritage's stance on school vouchers -- yeech). Anyway, I'd be curious to know if Harry finds this unreasonable but I'm sure he's already moved on to his next point to drop.