The Case for Pragmatic Idealism,

James A. Baker, III writes an insighful take on America's position in the world today and in the future. Mr. Baker does not believe in all of the gloom and doom that seemingly surrounds our nation internationally.

THE PRINCIPLES that guide American foreign policy during the coming years will determine how successful the United States will be as it addresses the complex global challenges that confront us. A foreign policy simply rooted in values without a reasonable rationale of concrete interests will not succeed. But our foreign policy will also fail if it too narrowly focuses on the national interest and disregards the role that democratic ideals and human rights play in establishing a more secure world. These truths will confront the next president regardless of his or her political party. He or she will face an international environment in which the use or misuse of American power in all its manifestations—military, diplomatic and economic—will bear decisively on our national security and on global stability.

Click here to read his viewpoint on America's bright future. Mr. Baker has served our nation as the Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Treasury for President Ronald Reagan, including Secretary of State for President George H.W. Bush.