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The American political system is so porous, it's so open, it's so frustrating for those who are trying to make policy.

Michael Mandelbaum

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Michael Mandelbaum
Age: 78
Born: 1946
Born: September 23
Political Scientist
Professor
Trying
Make
Porous
Frustrating
Policy
System
Open
American
Political

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The government can give citizens opportunity and it's their responsibility to take advantage of it.
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The United States doesn't do what it does in the world for altruistic reasons. Nobody set out to be the world's government.
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The United States contributes to peace in both by serving as a buffer between and among regional powers that, while not preparing for armed conflict, do not fully trust one another.
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American influence in the world is certainly considerable, but the United States does not control, directly or indirectly, the politics and economics of other societies, as empires have always done, save for a few special cases that turn out to be the exceptions that prove the rule.
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Certainly, protecting oppressed people, stopping ethnic conflict and promoting responsible governance are worthy goals. But none is as important for American security and prosperity as keeping the peace in the Middle East, Europe and East Asia.
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The real threat to world stability is not too much American power. It is too little American power.
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Let me remind you all that the first task of American foreign policy is to reduce threats to the United States.
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The American empire will not disappear... because America does not have an empire.
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The attacks of September 11, 2001, were spectacular, riveting, grim, costly and searing. The shock that they caused reverberated throughout the world. What happened in New York and Washington and Pennsylvania ended the lives of thousands of people and changed the lives of many more. But they did not change the world.
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People do not change when you tell them they should they change when they tell themselves they must.
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All policy is a matter of gains and losses, upsides and downsides.
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If architecture is, as is sometimes said, music set in concrete, then football and basketball may be said to be creativity embodied in team sports.
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In my experience, it's not just that serious books get a hearing on comedy shows. But serious books get a serious hearing, as well as a funny one, on comedy shows.
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The war on terror, I believe, will be waged by effective intelligence and police work and cruise missiles.
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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.
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One thing worse than an America that is too strong, the world will learn, is an America that is too weak.
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The main division in the world is between democratic and undemocratic countries.
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American foreign policy, for all its shortcomings, has underpinned political stability around the world.
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The values, the programs, the formula, the determination, and the patriotism responsible for America's past success are still here to be tapped.
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