Quotes From Around Yon Blogosphere

UN ambassador-designate Susan Rice and the president-elect

There's no bigger foreign policy issue facing America than when and if to use military force. The only instance that the overwhelming majority of the nation will support are clear cases of self-defense; the reason people rallied because the 2001 use of force in Afghanistan was because this was a government that had harbored and trained terrorists who mounted a direct attack on the United States. Conversely, Iraq should have been a non-starter -- ultimately tied to American geopolitical dominance and other factors that should not be a legitimate causus belli.

Genocide is a tipping point. I believe that the United States has an obligation to rally world military support and play an active role when there's an opportunity to stop a program of genocide while it's in progress. For the most part, we've regretted the times we didn't get involved -- most notably Rwanda -- and seen mostly positive results when we have taken action, as in took place in Bosnia a few years later. . . .

The obvious lesson is that military missions with a humanitarian bent shouldn't be launched willy-nilly -- and we all hope for a world in which American troops would never need to fight abroad. But if they must, I'm much rather seen our powerful (bloatedly so) military machine used to stop mass killings rather than establishing hegemony in oil-exporting regions. I'm glad to see that President-elect Obama assembling a team that views the world this way as well.

-- WILL BUNCH

Most people in the broad "middle" seem to be relieved by Obama's moves in the last few weeks, so I have to conclude that they don’t have much of a problem with conventional Washington thinking, either. The majority is not just getting the government they deserve, but apparently it is also the government they want. When it fails them, as it is going to do, I don"t want to hear them complaining about the problems of the status quo.

-- DANIEL LARISON

Retaining [Robert] Gates is convenient for Obama. Now a Bush official who supported the surge and who maintains good relations with General David Petraeus will be handed the assignment of pulling US forces from Iraq and ending--or winding down--the war there. That may help Obama avoid a political battle over his Iraq policy. But in his two years as George W. Bush's defense secretary, Gates, who does appear to be a competent and nonideological official, has not accomplished much in Afghanistan--a war that Obama increasingly cites as a top priority. Nor has he done anything to rein in the wild budgetary ways of the Pentagon. By sticking with Gates, Obama is ducking a fight or two--but to bring change to the Pentagon, one or more fights might be necessary.

-- DAVID CORN

One thing I'll say about Obama - it's been a long time since America looked to its President with such expectations of his impact. Bush, both father and son, and Clinton didn't exactly inspire. Reagan had his moments but even so wasn't accorded the contemporary universal acclaim for his presence that the hagiography of the Right would give him (especially abroad).

But it seems everyone expects Obama to shine as a public presence. Even the Right in opposition expect to be spending more time pointing out what they will say is the seedier truth behind Obama's soaring rhetoric than pointing out how much they believe he is unprepared to be President. That election time argument is now largely forgotten. Of course, even they are also belatedly accepting that George W. Bush was just as woefully unready, throughout his time in office, as they say Obama is now. And no-one is saying Obama will be as slow a student as Dubya. If he truly is unprepared right now, he won't be after a year in office.

-- CERNIG

The Department of Justice plays a unique role on this team. It is incumbent those of us who lead the department to ensure not only that the nation is safe but also that our laws and traditions are respected. There is not a tension between those two. We can and we must ensure that the American people remain secure and that the great constitutional guarantees that define us as a nation are truly valued.

-- ERIC HOLDER

It appears the political classes have briefly sobered up and decided to act responsibly, selflessly and -- dare we say it -- in the best interest of the country. The times are simply so serious, so dangerous, so calamitous that we can’t afford politics as usual. And for once, politicians seem to get it. We all wish President-elect Obama success. Because there’s a good chance that if he fails, we all go down together. Way down.

And let's give credit where it's due. The spirit of good will is being significantly leveraged by Obama, who has had made a series of very smart, practical, pragmatic and non-ideological picks for his cabinet.

Eight years ago, George W. Bush said he wanted to change the tone in Washington. Well, a recount crippled that idea before it got out of the crib. It simply wasn't the right time for the message or the messenger.

-- MARK McKINNON

Photograph by Jim Bourg/Reuters