A thought for Europeans as George W. Bush returns to Washington. You can keep faith with your opposition to the Iraq war. You can hold on to the belief (as I do) that the US president's first-term foreign policy was recklessly unilateralist. You can remain true to the argument that global security depends on respect for the rule of law from the powerful as well as the weak. Now, stop and think. None of the above should leave Europe on the side of tyranny and stability in the contest with freedom and democracy. Instead of scowling when Mr Bush speaks of liberty, Europeans should recall who wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Then they should deliver their own freedom speech.

Two small episodes this week shone a light into the dark corner into which many in Europe have backed themselves. The first was the uncomfortable shuffling of feet in Brussels' Concert Noble banquet hall as Mr Bush set out America's strategic commitment to the advance of democracy. The second was the lukewarm reception from some leaders of "Old Europe" for Viktor Yushchenko, the Ukrainian president, at the subsequent Nato summit.