So, let me get this straight: the Republican mainstream on foreign policy is so out of whack (or just "whack") that realists like Chuck Hagel have to move away from it, which means moving towards the Democrats. That is hysterically funny to me, since realism rejects the liberal tradition of the "progress" of human nature (see Hans Morgenthau, for example).
Realists, rather, just expect humans to be themselves. To "Some Defunct Economist" that means expecting them to be (at least) a little bit greedy, wanting more, and a little bit lazy, while doing less. In short: people primarily look out for themselves, often doing so at the expense of others.
On the other hand, the GOP's whole science/reality issue (see Chris Mooney's book) means that the only direction realism can run is away from the right. The GOP's repudiation of reality thus becomes complete, and it leaves ever-more a faith-based movement, without much concern for the really real.
To make matters worse (or funnier for a guy like me), former Bush State Department official Nicholas Burns writes that the United States should talk to our enemies, including Iran. Thank you, Nukes & Spooks for pointing me to that article. Burns writes:
Talking to our adversaries is no one's idea of fun, and it is not a sure prescription for success in every crisis. But it is crude, simplistic and wrong to charge that negotiations reflect weakness or appeasement. More often than not, they are evidence of a strong and self-confident country. One of America's greatest but often neglected strengths is, in fact, our diplomatic power.And then there's Lawrence Eagelberger, one of the former Secretaries of State who have endorsed McCain. Well, while he is endorsing and supporting McCain, even he finds Sarah Palin appalling.
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