She Belongs to the Ages

Jeane Kirkpatrick has died. A former Democrat who, like Ronald Reagan, switched parties when her party proved too affectionate for Communists, Kirkpatrick served as Ambassador the UN under the Gipper. A co-founder with Jack Kemp of the Empower America think tank, she authored a controversial article in the November 1979 issue of Commentary titled, "Dictatorships and Double Standards." Her article delivered a scathing critique of the Carter Administration's foreign policy, in which the President and his State department never applied their normal standards for human rights to Communist dictators. Former Governor Ronald Reagan read the article and contacted Kirkpatrick, eager to appoint her as his ambassador to the UN, should he win election in 1980. When Reagan defeated Carter soundly, he made Jeane Kirkpatrick one of the best and most decisive diplomats to serve as UN Ambassador from the United States.
The most enduring legacy of Jeane Kirkpatrick is probably the phrase she coined that seems extremely applicable today as the Iraq Surrender Group produces its report. Her speech from 1984 highlighted a number of positions the Liberals had taken, blaming American policies of Communist aggression and she observed repeatedly, "With them, it is always Blame America First." As we accept the resignation of John Bolton from the post she held, we observe with some sorrow the loss of one outstanding diplomat and the passing of another great public figure. Kirkpatrick understood the times in which she lived and worked effectively against Soviet aggression, calling an acquisitive agenda by its correct name. We need leaders like her now more than ever. The link to her article "Dictatorships and Double Standards" is below:
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/cm/main/viewArticle.aip?id=6189