Jewish World Review Jan. 24, 2005 / 14 Shevat, 5765

Bush's Majestic Plans

By Tucker Carlson

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Say what you want about the current administration: It aims high. You won't catch George W. Bush prattling on about school uniforms or midnight basketball. Bush's plans are far more majestic than that.

So it was no surprise that Thursday's inaugural address contained not a single micro-policy. Instead the Bush administration's stated policy is nothing less than ending tyranny in the world. To which the obvious response is: Couldn't we start smaller — by, say, fixing the D.M.V?

Ending tyranny is indeed a noble aspiration, maybe even a useful one. As Bush put it, "the survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands."

This is true. But it is also true that there will always be tyranny in other lands. Just as there will always be human weakness and greed and evil. None of this is going away.

While it's here, we will have to deal with it. So we will continue to negotiate with dictators. We will look the other way as they oppress their populations. We will do this because, sometimes, falling short of our high-minded goals is in our interest. And America's interests are what American presidents are charged with protecting.

So bring on the lofty rhetoric. Let it inspire us, make us proud to be Americans. But let's not lie to ourselves. People get killed that way.