Words from a wise man

As we sift through the wreckage of our standing in the world, Josh Marshall gets it exactly right:

America's greatest moments in the last century came when she tempered power with right and toughened, or sharpened, the edges of right with power.

I can't imagine a more elegant turn of phrase on this subject.

Our current leaders, a visceral and intemperate lot, are oblivious to the lessons of history and thus have failed Josh's principle from both sides. They have frittered our power, both hard and soft, in foolish enterprises and have blunted, perhaps permanently, our ability to make the world a better place.

Today we mourn our 700+ dead in Iraq, and the 20,000+ wounded seriously enough to require medical evacuation. Tomorrow, or someday soon after, the squandering our moral currency will leave us impotent in the face of evil. There are no winners here.