From the NY Times editorial Folly’s Antidote by Arthur Schlesinger, quoting President Kennedy:

“We must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent or omniscient — that we are only 6 percent of the world’s population; that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind; that we cannot right every wrong or reverse each adversity; and therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem.”

How I wish we would’ve elected a President who understood history, not one who employs those (Rumsfeld, Cheney) who made mistakes that made history (Vietnam, Saddam Hussein).

I’m reading The One Percent Doctrine right now. I’m only done the first few chapters, but I’ve already learned some interesting things. One interesting item is about the intersection of Rumsfeld’s and Cheney’s paths over the past 40 years. These men have similar histories, related histories, and both found a malleable President who lets them assert their power. Knowing that the President they wanted to have a beer with would let Cheney and a man Nixon described as a “ruthless little bastard” essentially run the country, I wonder if Americans would’ve made a different choice.

Anyway, I recommend the book. So far, it’s written well and there’s more here from behind the scenes than in any book I’ve read since Richard Clarke’s. Most of the book so far has been built from interviews with former and current agents of the CIA, FBI, and folks that you normally don’t hear much from. Good stuff.