re: #157 goddamnedfrank

Only a ponce could care about a thing like that. State’s job isn’t to market itself to Americans, it’s to represent the United States to the rest of the world. There’s also no sense of discretion in what you proposed, what countries we should do this to and which ones it would be an absolute disaster on. You’re also, by omission, proposing a one size fits all approach to foreign trade relations, which I know can’t be your intent because if this were the tack taken with Israel you’d freak out. Anyway, I can’t imagine a more counter productive policy than for DoS to start adopting “nastier” rhetoric with regards to say, China, simply to placate domestic critics like yourself. That would be completely antithetical to State’s mission and damaging to the interests of the US.

I wasn’t proposing it as to be done at all times, but only on occasion.

It may well not be a good idea, but the fact is that if DoS wants to improve its image domestically, then it needs to appear more resolute.