Re: America's Place in the World

Lee Hamilton, in talking about America's place in the world, mentions "idealism beyond reach" as something that has characterized the foreign policy of this administration. It's a really interesting way to frame what could only be described as hubristic goals: democracy and stability in the Middle East, say. I wonder, though, if the countervailing argument -- the kind of isolationism ascribed to the Founding Fathers -- isn't also "idealism beyond reach." In other words, how much can we expect to mind our own business if our business is everyone else's business is our business, ad infinitum. How, exactly, does globalization and the decentralization of power that comes with it affect America's world role?