I’ve mentioned before that one of the more alarming aspects ofgetting older is that I find myself agreeing from time to time withHenry Kissinger. So his inclusion in Leslie Gelb’s call for a broad coalition of foreign policy realiststo shape American policy isn’t a dealbreaker. It’s become an electoralcliche to talk about bipartisanship, but while that usually refers todomestic politics, I think it will be far more essential over thecourse of the next eight years in the conduct of foreign policy.American society is resilient enough to weather the tug-of-war ofpartisan politics. But the rapidly evolving global scene now more than ever demands a clearheaded, sober approach, one that benefits fromthe sort of national unity that can best be achieved through the involvement of both sides of the aisle. The pendulum needs to swingback to realism, with as much popular support as possible.
