Democracy — by which I primarily mean a liberal order marked by the rule of law and political accountability of government officials — is morally preferable to tyranny and it is always worth some measure of our effort to advance it wherever tyranny reigns. That doesn't mean we should deliver liberalism at gunpoint around the globe. But even if it is a matter of rhetoric and soft diplomacy, we should always be on the side of freedom. Necessary compromises with reality are forgivable, even advisable, but that shouldn't change our conviction. Charges of hypocrisy as we deal with the Musharrafs of the world is [sic] a small price to pay for championing liberty. I thought this was the sort of stuff Reaganites believed.
Jonah Goldberg, 18 July 1979:
Necessary compromises with reality are forgivable, even advisable, but that shouldn't change our conviction. Charges of hypocrisy as we deal with the anti-Soviet mujahedeen in Afghanistan is a small price to pay for championing liberty.
Jonah Goldberg, 18 July 1984:
Necessary compromises with reality are forgivable, even advisable, but that shouldn't change our conviction. Charges of hypocrisy as we deal with Saddam Hussein is a small price to pay for championing liberty.
"Charges of hypocrisy," if recent history is any help, are the least of our worries when it comes to "dealing with Musharraf."
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