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[The following are excerpts from the speech presented to The World Affairs Council of Northern California Conference: "From London to Moscow: New Faces, Old Alliances," Monterrey, CA, May 2, 2008.]
The topic of this session is "new faces." So I'm happy to say that I am one of those people who believe that the role of the individual in world affairs is critical. Leadership does make a difference. How different would things have been had Churchill not been Churchill, or Stalin not been Stalin, or Adenauer not been Adenauer, or in our own country, Reagan not been Reagan?
And, of course, it's a great sport to look out a couple of years and imagine the new faces on the scene and ponder how things may develop in the future. Chancellor Merkel was a new face just a few years ago and has had a substantial impact. President Sarkozy has certainly had a remarkable impact on France and Europe. Gordon Brown is still a fairly new face as Prime Minister and has at least two more years ahead of him, even while David Cameron wants us to look at his new face instead. Mr. Berlusconi is back, with a strong parliamentary majority that may lead yet again to a five-year reign in Italy. Next week's new face is Dmitry Medvedev; and it remains to be seen what his becoming President will mean, while Putin occupies the Russian White House as Prime Minister.
But somehow, I just get the feeling that when people talk about new faces in transatlantic relations, they're really just seeking the cover of a euphemism for talking about a new U.S. President. Sometimes I think these hopes take on the character of an unhealthy fervor and certainly give rise to unrealistic expectations.
Before I launch into dashing these expectations, let me first put in a word on behalf of hope. Because people do have high expectations, let's try to put all that energy to good use. Let's create an opportunity to strengthen our transatlantic community, invest in our values and each other, [and] redouble our efforts to tackle the great challenges we face. We can make this a defining moment. So yes, let's be hopeful.
But on the way there, let's also be...