For the past several years it's become quite clear how the world's image of the United States has become roadkill. Everyone can see it, and no one (outside the U.S.) wants to be responsible for cleaning it up. Of course we can thank the Bush Administration for pushing the U.S. into this situation.

Now the rallying cry is to rescue our image. Pull out of Iraq so that the world thinks better of us. Elect a black man to the Presidency so that the world thinks better of us. Increase our aid to poor countries so that the world thinks better of us. And on and on....

This is wrong. The objective is NOT to rescue our image. The objective is to do all these things and more because they are the right and moral things to do. If our image improves, then that that is a positive, secondary consequence of our actions.