To mark the 212th anniversary of the birth of Millard Fillmore, what better than to revisit his policies? Here is a bit from his second State of the Union address, in which President Fillmore describes his view of American foreign policy:
Our true mission is not to propagate our opinions or impose upon other countries our form of government by artifice or force, but to teach by example and show by our success, moderation, and justice the blessings of self-government and the advantages of free institutions. Let every people choose for itself and make and alter its political institutions to suit its own condition and convenience.
Our addiction to changing the forms of government of other nations hasn't, on the whole, worked out very well. We've provided some excellent training to our military, but we haven't been exemplifying "success, moderation, and justice."