Oh, I wouldn't give the Democrats a free pass, Ake. As I said, American interventionism in the Americas began in the late 1800s, before they even finished conquering the "lower 48." It continued through the Reagan Administration, but dwindled after that - partly due to Castro's opposition, I believe.

I do recall that there were a few Democrats elected President between 1850 and 1990 - and they were certainly involved in American interventionism in the Americas. Kennedy was particularly deep in it, but LBJ was distracted by Vietnam. Yes, there was American interventionism in other parts of the world, but not as solidly motivated by "manifest destiny" as it was in the Americas.

The Reagan Administration was the last American Presidency that was deeply involved in interfering with governments in the Americas. Remember El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Grenada? Those were only the tip of the iceberg. And the Republicans have canonized Reagan. Now that they have control of the Presidency and both houses of Congress, they yearn to go back to Reagan's glory days - "when the U.S. was respected," they say.

-Joe-