One thing worse than an America that is too strong, the world will learn, is an America that is too weak.

One thing worse than an America that is too strong, the world will learn, is an America that is too weak.

While analogies are useful, however, they can also be misleading. They smuggle in assumptions that can be wrong.

In the past when a country became as powerful as the United States, other countries would band together to clip its wings. But that isn't happening now and I don't think it's not going to happen, because other countries are not threatened by us, and they secretly appreciate the services that we provide, even if they don't usually say so.

The windfall of great riches can, if mismanaged, make things worse, not better, for the recipients.

The real threat to world stability is not too much American power. It is too little American power.

After all, the past is our only real guide to the future, and historical analogies are instruments for distilling and organizing the past and converting it to a map by which we can navigate.