To readers outside of the US: this man (Thomas Friedman) charges tens of thousands of dollars for his speeches on foreign policy. Here is a sample of his sophisticated thinking on foreign policy issues: "I’ve always been dubious about Barack Obama’s offer to negotiate with Iran — not because I didn’t believe that it was the right strategy, but because I didn’t believe we had enough leverage to succeed. And negotiating in the Middle East without leverage is like playing baseball without a bat."