Defining the Bush Doctrine...Again!

From Muck: Much has been made of Sarah Palin's apparent "stumble" when asked by Charles Gibson to give her view of the Bush Doctrine. Yet even more surprising is the debate over the exact definition of the Bush Doctrine this episode has caused. Hardliner Charles Krauthammer quickly came to Palin's defense, arguing that it was Gibson who in fact got it wrong in oversimplifying what he suggests is a multifaceted and evolving doctrine. For Krauthammer, anticipatory self-defense (i.e. preemption) is only part of the Bush Doctrine. In his blog for Time, Joe Kline shot back, accusing Krauthammer and others of employing a "right-wing smokescreen" to "camouflage Sarah Palin's utter unfamiliarity with the Bush Doctrine." Former Bush speech writer, Michael Gerson endeavored to parse the differences with a 3 point definition that included preemption, democracy promotion, and economic development. Of course, only with time and greater reflection will a final definition be settled up. Yet given the geo-strategic dominance of containment and deterrence throughout the Cold War, one cannot but help to think that the Bush administration's foreign policy legacy will be define largely by its rebuff of these frameworks.