MATT WELCH says that Vaclav Havel is Tony Blair east:

with a sharper moral authority and a stronger taste for drink. Quietly, he has had more influence on American foreign policy this last decade than any politician between Bonn and Moscow.

Plus he’s just a cool guy. Heck, he knows Matt Welch (er, sorta-kinda, secondhand), and that’s enough to make you pretty damned cool. Oh, and scroll up on Welch’s page for some information about our rather heavy-handed role (along with the EU) in the Slovakian elections next door.