Presidental Elections & Candidates, U.S. Politics & Government - 1988-1993, U.S. Diplomatic Relations - History

Letters to the Next President

Name: Letters to the Next President
Author: Senator Richard Lugar
ISBN: 9781420807387

by Senator Richard Lugar

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Overview

Praise for the 1988 edition:

"In this thoughtful volume, Senator Lugar elegantly sets forth his views on the challenges that will confront the coming administration in the conduct of our nation's foreign policy."

Henry A. Kissinger

"A thoughtful set of foreign policy prescriptions by one of the Senate's most thoughtful leaders - it should be read by our next President, even if he is not an enlightened conservative!"

Zbigniew Brzezinski

"Richard Lugar's leadership in foreign affairs has impressed me as one of the soundest in public life today. His [book] reflects the depth of his experience and insights."

Max Kampelman

"The next President should welcome and greatly benefit from the responsible and experienced policy recommendations of Senator Dick Lugar."

Gerald Ford

"The Senator shows that it is possible to be principled even in international politics and still come out a winner. He is just as incisive and wise in this book, which clarifies some of the most complex issues in the conduct of foreign affairs."

Corazon C. Aquino

Senator Richard Lugar is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the longest serving Senator in Indiana history, and a five-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee. He is the co-author of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which has safeguarded and destroyed more than 6,300 nuclear warheads in the former Soviet Union, along with hundreds of missiles, bombers, submarines and other weapons left over from the Cold War arms race.

In Letters to the Next President, Senator Lugar challenges all presidential hopefuls - and every concerned citizen - to reexamine their views on foreign policy. He offers the next president ten rules for presidential leadership in foreign policy that are as valid today as they were in 1988. For this edition he has added a timely chapter addressed to President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, which analyzes the foreign policy dynamics of 2004.

Synopsis

Praise for the 1988 edition: "In this thoughtful volume, Senator Lugar elegantly sets forth his views on the challenges that will confront the coming administration in the conduct of our nation's foreign policy." Henry A. Kissinger "A thoughtful set of foreign policy prescriptions by one of the Senate's most thoughtful leaders - it should be read by our next President, even if he is not an enlightened conservative!" Zbigniew Brzezinski "Richard Lugar's leadership in foreign affairs has impressed me as one of the soundest in public life today. His [book] reflects the depth of his experience and insights." Max Kampelman "The next President should welcome and greatly benefit from the responsible and experienced policy recommendations of Senator Dick Lugar." Gerald Ford "The Senator shows that it is possible to be principled even in international politics and still come out a winner. He is just as incisive and wise in this book, which clarifies some of the most complex issues in the conduct of foreign affairs." Corazon C. Aquino Senator Richard Lugar is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the longest serving Senator in Indiana history, and a five-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee. He is the co-author of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which has safeguarded and destroyed more than 6,300 nuclear warheads in the former Soviet Union, along with hundreds of missiles, bombers, submarines and other weapons left over from the Cold War arms race. In Letters to the Next President, Senator Lugar challenges all presidential hopefuls - and every concerned citizen - to reexamine their views on foreign policy. He offers the next president ten rules for presidential leadership in foreign policy that are as valid today as they were in 1988. For this edition he has added a timely chapter addressed to President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, which analyzes the foreign policy dynamics of 2004.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Although the book reads somewhat like campaign literature for his own political aspirations, the views on foreign policy in these ``letters'' by the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-chair of its Arms Control Observer group, merits the attention of presidential contenders and the electorate. Warning against a growing gap between our objectives and capacities, Lugar stresses that defined priorities based on national consensus must govern our foreign commitments. He further maintains that the president should respect the War Powers Resolution and routinely consult congressional leaders on major foreign-policy matters; secrecy, he alleges, will undermine presidential credibility. Among Reagan administration foreign-affairs successes and mistakes, Lugar cites the encouraging movement toward democracy in Guatemala and the Philippines whose election of Cory Aquino the president championed, but the author deplores what he terms the Nicaraguan ``quagmire.'' Lugar concludes with ethical admonitions, the foremost of which is: tell the truth. Major ad/promo. (June)

Library Journal

Senator Lugar, member and former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, assesses recent U.S. foreign policy and his suggestions for future policy formulation. Writing a series of letters to the president taking office in January 1989, Lugar focuses special attention on Central America, South Africa, and the Philippines, including chapters on general foreign policy goals as well. The chapters dealing with the Philippines, where Lugar was an official observer during the critical 1986 elections, are of particular interest. A well-informed and intelligent assessment of foreign policy concerns.Scott Wright, Coll. of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn.