Trent Lott: “I would like at this time to rise in opposition to the nomination of Strobe Talbott, Ambassador-at-Large to the former…”

“I would like at this time to rise in opposition to the nomination of Strobe Talbott, Ambassador-at-Large to the former Soviet Republics, to be Deputy Secretary of State. Statecraft is not just arms and armies. Wisdom and foresight are also essential elements in foreign policy. Mr. Talbott in his writings and public statements has not shown wisdom or foresight. Never have clearer minds and sharper eyes been needed than now in this time of international turmoil and uncertainty. This Nation needs and deserves better than this nominee whose foreign policy prowess is dubious and whose experience as a manager is almost nonexistent, as far as I can tell. With the end of the cold war, America and her ideals should be triumphant. The international sphere has never been a Garden of Eden, but America, sure in its resolve and rightness, and steeled by its victory over communism, should now have a sturdier hand and influence in the world. Yet we are floundering. Part of the problem is that this administration is unsure of our country's rightness. Thus, you have this multilateralism fetish.”