The Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) released a fascinting document last week, "Opportunities for Bipartisan Consensus: What Both Republicans and Democrats Want in US Foreign Policy". They present a series of positions, based on their own late December poll, plus a number of other polls conducted in 2004, that are

....consensus positions. In nearly all cases, they are supported by a clear majority of both Republicans and Democrats. In a small number of cases, one or the other party was divided, but in no case was the majority of one party clearly opposed. For many of these positions, leaders were polled as well, and there was also bipartisan consensus among them. In a very small number of cases the positions below were not endorsed by a majority of leaders in both parties but were included if there was a clear public consensus and the overall position among the leaders was supportive.....

The consensus positions were as follows:

THE US ROLE IN THE WORLD
• Do not pursue a general policy that emphasizes disengagement nor US dominance, but rather multilateral cooperation
• Make preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and combating international terrorism the top priorities in US foreign policy

MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS
• Strengthen the UN
• Take part in UN peacekeeping
• Comply with adverse WTO decisions
• Participate in the International Criminal Court
• Give the WHO the power to intervene

US MILITARY CAPACITY
• Do not make further increases in the number of US military bases
• Do not make further increases in defense spending
• Do not develop new types of nuclear weapons
• Continue research on missile defense but do not deploy until proven effective
• Ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
• Participate in the Land Mines Treaty

THE USE OF US MILITARY FORCE: PRINCIPLES
• Only go to war with a government that is developing weapons of mass destruction or supporting terrorists if there is an imminent threat to the US, or the UN Security Council approves
• Use US military force to deal with a humanitarian crisis, especially to stop genocide
• Do not use US military force to replace dictators with democratic governments
• Do not use nuclear weapons except in response to a nuclear attack

THE WAR ON TERROR
• In the effort to fight terrorism, strengthen international law through multilateral institutions, use military force, promote economic development of poor countries and be even-handed in the Israel-Palestinian conflict
• Do not use torture to gain information Do not use torture to gain information....

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
• Limit greenhouse gasses through legislation, including the McCain Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act, even if this would incur significant costs
• Require car manufacturers to meet higher fuel efficiency standards, even if this would increase the cost of buying or leasing a car, and give tax credits for more energy efficient cars and appliances
• Participate in the Kyoto Treaty
• Try to get developing countries to limit greenhouse gas emissions, but do not expect them to actually reduce

TRADE
• Work toward lowering trade barriers while also pursuing more trade adjustment assistance to help American worker to adapt
• Include requirements for minimum labor and environmental standards in trade agreements
• Pursue a Free Trade Area of the Americas
• Do not provide subsidies for large farming businesses, but do provide them for small farmers.

Great! All that's missing here is a Democratic president that actually believes in some of this stuff. 'Til that blessed time, we're stuck with a president who believes his "accountability moment" on November 2, 2004 means he's now entitled to completely ignore public opinion for the next four years.