Former Secretaries of State to next President: Get over it. Get real. Be smart. (CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

Program Note: 5 former Secretaries of State tell Christiane Amanpour & Frank Sesno what advice they have for “The Next President.”

Watch The Next President: A World of Challenges. Saturday, 9 p.m. ET

Frank Sesno | BIO
CNN Special Correspondent

There we were, sitting alongside five people who had made history and shaped American foreign policy for nearly four decades. Vietnam and détente. Hot war with Iraq and Cold War with the Soviet Union. Mideast peace conferences and arms control. Kosovo and Iran. Rwanda and Iraq. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the scourge of drought, poverty and AIDS in the developing world. Henry Kissinger, James Baker, Warren Christopher, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell. Five former American Secretaries of State. The conversation was remarkable for its candor, depth and realism.

We gathered at the George Washington University, where I teach, to talk about the challenges facing the next American president. Christiane Amanpour brought her experience and hard edge to the questioning. The list of challenges we asked about was daunting– from big global issues like climate change and poverty to decisions about how to deal with the new, more assertive Russia, how to handle Iraq and Afghanistan, whether to reach out to Iran, how to fight terrorism and fix America’s tattered image in the world.

Here’s what the secretaries’ bottom line was: get over it. Get real. Be smart. The world is a complicated place. America has to lead. Play down the ideology, they seemed to say, and approach the world rationally and with perspective. Imagine that.

They didn’t agree on everything but the points of consensus were striking – and refreshing, far from the attack soundbites of the campaign and the seductively quick-fix ideas we often hear from politicians and pundits. In fact, on more than one issue, it was clear that this conversation could not possibly take place in the hothouse of the campaign. Poll-driven comments and rapid reaction war rooms ready to pounce prevent candidates from admitting mistakes or embracing the nuance of the real world – even though it’s the real world in which we live.

Some of their suggestions were practical and incremental, some would be big departures from where we are today.
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more: http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/19/former-secretaries-of-state-to-next-president-get-over-it-get-real-be-smart/

Scroll down to the comments -- no one defending Bu**sh** so far.

[speedoo]

1. K&R. Thanks for posting this.

[Jane Austin]

2. Is that Lawrence Eagleberger in

your sig pic?

Guess not, 'cause he never smiles. :)

[lumpy]

3. Fact - When former Secs. of State retire from public service

they begin to own up to the truth and start making good sense. It's always interesting to hear what they have to say when they aren't pledging allegence to their parties.

[Recursion]

4. While I think Kissinger should be in jail...

...his shocking frankness in his memoirs makes me think there's some hope for the guy. He (rightly) concluded future historians' access to the truth was more important than his or Nixon's reputation.

[lumpy]

5. Too many politicians pledge allegience to their parties instead

of to the welfare of the country when they are in office. We have seen this change of view with, especially, the Sec's of States over the years. Reminds me of elderly people who suddenly start going to church with the idea they have a better chance of getting into heaven.