I want a better president

by Linda Schmitt, Corvallis

I want a better president. I want one who understands the range of tools at his disposal and can manipulate them skillfully. I want one who resorts to power only when all else has failed, when he has exhausted all avenues to avert catastrophe.   

Power works. We always knew that. Maduro is a bad guy. We knew that. Tell me this: Is capturing him and his wife, hauling them off to the US our only choice? I thought violations of international law were to be avoided. Agree that there are boundaries. That’s the point of law. We don’t have to choose military invasions, disruption of another nation’s sovereignty to get what we desire.  

I want a better president. One who can use our soft powers – diplomacy, economic pressure, jawboning, arm twisting, coalition building – to gain our ends. You can throw your military at a problem – so what? You can break the laws, so can I. I can gas your people, poison your water, pitch a nuclear bomb over the fence – so what? I win. You lose. What, exactly did I win? The collapse of a nation, the destruction of an economy, the fear and helpless fury of a people. I won a disaster, and I proved that power wins….nothing.  

There are lots of bad guys all around the world. Are we going after them all? To what end?