It comes down to there being two fundamentally different views on America's place in the world, and what kinds of international actions will best keep us safer, and those views were on display clearly last night.

Our current administration has pursued a course of action defined by an America that is bellicose, headstrong, and independent to a fault. An America defined by the cold war, and cold war policies. They have consistenly mistaken resolution for leadership. From this perspective, America is meant to rule the world. We don't have to co-operate, we don't have to answer to anyone, and our national security depends on offensive action.

Kerry and the Democratic party think America should be a more equal player in the world. They value negotiation, communication, building alliances, working with others, and not just for our own advantage.

I think this is what it comes down to, at least on the foreign policy front. So the question is, are there two kinds of people in America? Do people even have an opinion about our role internationally? Can people who perhaps have supported Bush, for various other reasons, recognize that "stubborn bully" is not necessarily the personality America wants to have internationally?