Washington, DC — Leslie Gelb, the former New York Timesman, U.S. Government official and now professor emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations turns in a must read Wall Street Journal article on Dick Cheney’s gravitas on the world stage. 
A few snippets:
“Dick Cheney sees the dark side of the world, a reality that largely eludes Democrats but not most Americans. He understands power and knows how to wield it, as opposed to the soft-power prose of intellectual Democrats…
“Meantime, too many Democrats portray the rest of the world as just a bunch of misunderstood bunny rabbits who misunderstand us. It’s just one big misunderstanding. Democrats often seem to say that we can cure so much of the nastiness in the world with anti-poverty programs, and by allowing more foreign students to study here…
“Most Americans get the need for power, and Mr. Cheney lets them know he fears not to use that power. Sometimes, even often, he and President Bush use it too blatantly and bluntly, and it backfires. Such has been true of the administration’s clumsy and erratic efforts to stop nuclear weapons programs in Iran and North Korea. But leaders around the globe now realize that they will pay a price, even a heavy one, for opposing the Bush administration. They know Washington can array carrots and sticks that will make their lives easier or harder, and they prefer easier…
“By contrast, the Clinton administration left town being feared neither in Washington nor the world…
“Most Americans need to feel assured that our leaders will crush those who would hurt us. Correctly or incorrectly, Americans wonder whether Democrats have the stomach for this. They don’t wonder about Mr. Cheney or Mr. Bush.”
Awesome truthtelling many in the Democratic Party just don’t want to hear, much less deal with.