Political Quotes

“This administration must find its voice on human rights. On April 21 the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof authored a piece that closed with the following words: ``If President Obama is ever going to find his voice on Sudan, it had better be soon.'' Two weeks after the article ran, I wrote the President, and I submit a copy of the letter for the Record, putting forth a number of recommendations in the hopes in salvaging the administration's languishing Sudan policy. My concerns echoed those voiced by six respected NGOs who the week prior had run an ad in the Washington Post and Politico calling for Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Rice to exercise ``personal and sustained leadership on Sudan'' in the face of a ``stalemated policy'' and waning U.S. credibility as a mediator. Sadly, Kristof's assessment can be applied elsewhere around the world. It seems that President Obama and the administration as a whole have struggled to find its voice when it comes to the promotion and protection of basic human rights and religious freedom. These most cherished ideals, which are at the very heart of the American experiment, have time and again been sidelined by this administration's foreign policy. This is a grievous mistake which has dire implications for the world's dissidents and democrats who yearn for freedom and look to America to be their advocate.”