Lot To Atone For

In today's column, David Brooks wants to give credit to Bob Gates and Condoleeza Rice of the current Administration for beginning the movement toward the marriage of hard and soft power that we're beginning to see take shape in Obama's approach to foreign policy.

I think Brooks is probably correct in this, although Gates was brought in after all the damage had already been done by the likes of Cheney and Rumsfeld and their neo-conservative minions. Gates appears to be a realist of the Jim Baker/ Brent Scowcroft/Henry Kissinger school, which also seems to be at least part of Obama's approach. Add to that the strong diplomatic talents of Clinton and Obama himself, bringing their considerable celebrity to the world stage, and you have the beginnings of a new world leadership role for America, which is desperately needed in so many ways.

History may eventually give George W. Bush some credit for having made a midcourse correction in his foreign policy. He also seems to have taken on recently a new humility about his considerable mistakes early on that makes him easier to sympathize with.

But, make no mistake about it, he has a lot to atone for and there is a lot of blood on his hands, not to speak of his pals and subordinates, and for all that, a price will have to be paid.