Matt Yglesias

The Convergence

Lurking in this post is the interesting observation from Justin Logan about an odd convergence of beliefs between neocons and the far left about how to understand the history of American foreign policymaking. With the difference being, basically, that the neocon right takes what’s a critique in leftist hands and turns it into approbation.

I thought one of the weirdest recent expressions of this was a 2006 Robert Kagan New Republic article which made the case that Bush administration foreign policy was essentially continuous with the genocide of America’s native population and that this somehow constitutes a devastating rebuttal to Bush’s critics. If anything, it just sounds like an unhinged criticism of Bush. Or more to the point, it’s an example of a kind of moral rot inside the neo-imperialist camp where you see a positive embrace of the dark side of western history rather than an effort to identify and emphasize positive elements.

Greenwald Radio

Here’s me talking to Glenn Greenwald on his Salon radio show about the media and my fear that Barack Obama isn’t heeding the Heads in the Sand-type ideas that made me like him in the first place.

Polling Global Engagement

Interesting UN Foundation poll surveys the public’s views on various foreign policy priorities. It’s also interesting that Google Docs lets you make these embeddable slideshows:

I’m never sure how much credence to give this sort of polling, since I assume most people don’t really have well-formed or deeply-held opinions about foreign policy issues. But the interesting thing here actually just supports that observation — the enormously rapid swing in the direction of energy security as a priority and the upsurge of interest in a more restrictive role for the United States abroad.