If confirmed by the United States Senate, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will become the next American ambassador to the United Nations, replacing Samantha Power in that role.
Because the U.N. has become worse than a bad joke — giving despotic regimes a say and vote on issues the international body was established to tackle — its U.S. representative has the particularly tricky and important job of leading the West in setting the right moral tone
It is thus not a diplomatic position in the conventional sense. On the contrary, the best U.S. ambassadors have those who make repeated and concerted efforts to put their ill-deserving counterparts in their place, not only through votes and vetoes, but rhetorically, from the podium.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Jeane Kirkpatrick and John Bolton are prime examples of shining beacons in the Midtown Manhattan snake pit. Whether Haley lives up to that standard is anyone’s guess. But there is reason to hope that she might, in spite of what critics are pointing to as her lack of experience in matters of foreign affairs.
It is clear from Haley’s record, and meteoric rise to her position as the youngest serving governor in the U.S. at the moment, that she possesses the kind of clarity on controversial issues that is required in an arena filled with people whose key purpose is to cloud the distinction between good and evil.
She is a fierce opponent of raising taxes, including — get this — on cigarettes.
She supports school choice and monetary incentives for teachers, to foster excellence.
