“I was disturbed by the “axis of evil” speech, but not because of the French didn’t like it… For both France and England, traditional relationships with various Middle Eastern countries and especially Iraq were extremely important and not lightly sacrificed to some half-baked Bush version of an American Manifest Destiny. I took seriously the international and especially European reaction, but with a grain of salt. I was still principally focused on 9/11, Al Qaeda, and Osama bin Laden. The president’s remarks disappointed me, because it seemed as though he had lost focus of a grander but unrealistic vision.”
– Russ Feingold, While America Sleeps, Page 67