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This page contains all of the posts and discussion on MemeStreams referencing the following web page: President Bush's speech at the National Endowment for Democracy. You can find discussions on MemeStreams as you surf the web, even if you aren't a MemeStreams member, using the Threads Bookmarklet.

President Bush's speech at the National Endowment for Democracy
by Jeremy at 3:14 pm EST, Nov 10, 2003

The roots of our democracy can be traced to England and to its Parliament and so can the roots of this organization. In June of 1982, President Ronald Reagan spoke at Westminster Palace and declared the turning point had arrived in history. He argued that Soviet communism had failed precisely because it did not respect its own people, their creativity, their genius and their rights.
President Reagan said that the day of Soviet tyranny was passing, that freedom had a momentum that would not be halted.

He gave this organization its mandate: to add to the momentum of freedom across the world. Your mandate was important 20 years ago. It is equally important today.

William Safire implores everyone to read this speech. This entry points to the full transcript and video stream hosted by NED. (There is an excerpt missing from the NYT-hosted version.)

President Bush's speech at the National Endowment for Democracy
by Decius at 2:19 am EST, Nov 11, 2003

] Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating
] the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to
] make us safe -- because in the long run, stability cannot
] be purchased at the expense of liberty. As long as the
] Middle East remains a place where freedom does not
] flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation,
] resentment, and violence ready for export. And with the
] spread of weapons that can bring catastrophic harm to our
] country and to our friends, it would be reckless to
] accept the status quo.
]
] Therefore, the United States has adopted a new policy, a
] forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East.

Read this. This is Bush in rare form. Its probably the best I've heard out of him. It might be the best he'll ever offer. This is certainly the most positive perspective on current events that I've heard since before the market crashed. It is a hopeful and intelligent vision. Its something worth fighting for.

There is this nagging voice that keeps telling me to take a shot at him for ways that I think his policies diverge from these ideals. I'm not going to. This speech deserves to stand on its own. And Saffire was right, you ought to read it.