Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

TheRiseandRetreatoftheNewWorldOrder 309

seemsfatedtodiscoversomethingFisherAmesknew:inthisdemocratic
republicyoucanpullatthetillerashardasyoulike,buttheraftofstate
respondsonlysluggishlyandpartiallytoyourcommands-andyourfeet
willalwaysbewet.
Thisisfrustratingtostatesmenandespeciallytointellectualswith
sharpandwell-honedviews,butaftermorethantwocenturiesonoften
stormyseas,itisbeginningtolookasiftheverysluggishnessandunre-
sponsivenessoftheoldunwieldyrafthelpskeepitafloat.