Bush the Dissident

From the ever-enlightening Opinion Journal:

Last week President Bush met with Natan Sharansky, the Soviet dissident turned Israeli politician who has long advocated democracy in the Arab world as the way to peace, and whose new book, "The Case for Democracy," is a favorite of the president's. In National Review Online, Joel Rosenberg quotes Sharansky describing the meeting:

"I told the president, 'There is a great difference between politicians and dissidents. Politicians are focused on polls and the press. They are constantly making compromises. But dissidents focus on ideas. They have a message burning inside of them. They would stand up for their convictions no matter what the consequences.'

"I told the president, 'In spite of all the polls warning you that talking about spreading democracy in the Middle East might be a losing issue--despite all the critics and the resistance you faced--you kept talking about the importance of free societies and free elections. You kept explaining that democracy is for everybody. You kept saying that only democracy will truly pave the way to peace and security. You, Mr. President, are a dissident among the leaders of the free world.' "