Every time I look, the Bush Administration seems to be doing something stupid. Dropping out of the Kyoto global warming accords, unilaterally canceling the ABM treaty with Russia or walking away from the UN racism conference in South Africa. That sorta thing.

Now, I have to admit, the reasons given by George W. Bush and his pals are credible. Labeling Israel a racist state wouldn't help the whole Middle East crisis get resolved any quicker (even if Israel doesn't help itself by saying things like "We don't discriminate against Palestinians. They're just different from us."). Now that the cold war is dead, nuclear treaties are outdated and should be redrawn. And, yes, it does make some sense to try and convince developing nations to cut back on their greenhouse gas emissions.

I happen to believe that each of those positions is fundamentally flawed, but they are legitimate political ideas grounded in solid theory. No argument about that. Thing is, the overall impact of these decisions far outweighs any legitimate concerns raised by our (somewhat) duly elected government.

Simply put, the U.S. looks like a big baby. The Bush Administration apparently has this notion that our foreign policy ought to be something like, "Do it our way, or we're taking our very expensive toys and going home." There's an implicit belief that because the United States is the most powerful nation in the world in terms of military, economic and cultural might--yes, sports fans, we've won the triple crown--that eventually everyone else must bend to our will. We have the might, in just about every way, so we must be right.

The arrogance of this logic assumes that everyone in the U.S.--okay, every person with knowledge, power and insider access--happens to believe what Bush and Company do. But this, of course, is hogwash. Most regular Americans--I've read the polls just like you--don't think we should have dropped out of Kyoto and many are concerned about our disdain for the racism conference. Sure, most folks still think sticking it to Russia is good sport, but few really want a return to the days of nuclear standoff.

And that's just everyday idiots like you and me. In Washington, not even all Republicans, much less Democrats, see eye to eye with our current foreign policy. Why in the world are our diplomats playing chicken with the rest of the world when there's not even a vestige of national consensus on our actions?

But see, that's not even the important question. The answer has been answered already. The Bush Administration suffers from a serious bout of excessive hubris. No surprise there. That's the way Republicans usually rule. After all, more than a few right-wingers actually believe that a dictatorship has many advantages. On the other hand, Democrats generally squander power by delegating authority. This explains the Clinton health care debacle, among many other disasters.

Ah, then boys will be boys, right? I guess. I still can't help but be troubled by the symbolic moves our (somewhat) duly elected government has been making. In eight short months, the Bush Administration has made moves that make it appear to favor global warming, a renewed nuclear arms race and racism. Sure, there are good reasons (well, reasons, anyway) why we did what we did. That's irrelevant. Results are what counts, and the simple fact of the matter is that we managed to lose all our influence on all these matters without gaining a thing. The folks in the State Department threw a fit when we didn't get re-elected to the U.N. Human Rights Committee. Well, hell, if we're just going to throw temper tantrums at meetings, why would anybody want us around?

Our esteemed leadership generally deflects such criticism by saying U.S. sovereignty must be maintained at all costs. So we do things like refuse to sign a treaty banning the use of land mines (the Clinton Administration wouldn't sign either--I'm happy to dish out equal doses of blame when due). Fine. We made our bed. But our leaders don't seem to understand that by "saving" sovereignty we burn future influence. That's not just a symbolic gaffe. It's a "regrettable" mistake of epic proportions.

No one argued with the choices of Colin Powell as Secretary of State or Condoleeza Rice as National Security Advisor. I sure didn't. They are extremely intelligent folks. But even smart people can make mistakes. Real big ones. In fact, given their jobs, any mistake is bound to be a doozy. I can appreciate that. Which brings me to the real question here. Are Powell, Rice, Bush and friends wise enough to recognize their own mistakes and do something about them?

Jon Worley has been known to screw things up royally from time to time. Sometimes you'll even get him to admit it.