Johnson on Democracy

Paul Johnson, writing in Forbes, is only slightly less enthusiastic than Michael Ledeen concerning the impact of Bush's policies on the future of mankind. He writes:

Just as the appalling 20th century was the age of the totalitarian state, the Gulag and Auschwitz, so the 21st may come to be seen as the age of government "of the people, by the people, for the people." If so, the U.S., by its courage and persistence, will be able to take primary credit. It has certainly led from the front, and it has shown that it knows how to use its position as the world's sole superpower with judgment, honor and unselfishness. I think Abraham Lincoln would be proud of what George W. Bush and the U.S. forces have done. After the freeing of the slaves, what more logical and benevolent step could there be than to free millions of Arabs from the slavery of terror? So I say, God Bless America. And I'm confident that countless millions throughout the world say so, too, even if they do not dare--yet--to say so aloud.

Yes, I know, some professional historians dismiss Johnson as a crank, and in some ways he is, but he often has important things to say [his little book on Intellectuals is a classic, and he really nailed Lenin in Modern Times], and lets face it, we all wish we could write as well as he does.

Read the whole thing here.