I agree with Michael Gerson that we shouldn't be gutting the Millennium Challenge Accounts. But if Gerson is one-tenth as concerned about America's reputation in the world as he says is, then maybe he should have spoken out about things like "the obscenities of Abu Ghraib and the apparently permanent limbo of Guantanamo Bay" when they would've made a difference.
In his post White House career, Gerson is certainly transitioning into a David Brooks-style conservative-evem-liberals-can-love, and I don't imagine it's all artifice. But for him to fret that "there is an urgent need for American initiatives that build trust and respect in the world" when he spent years as the primary speechwriter for the set of policies that eviscerated America's reputation in the world is quite depressing. Either he couldn't see the obvious effects of what his boss was doing, he was willing to abet catastrophic policies in order to advance his career, or he was too cowardly to step out of his box and call wrongdoing by its rightful name when it would've mattered. No matter which option you choose, it's no an impressive record. And for Gerson to write a whole column on this stuff without ever mentioning his involvement is, well, rather odd.
