A word or two of advice

Five former secretaries of state share their wisdom with the next president of the United States

On Russia, the secretaries didn't excuse that nation's recent invasion of Georgia, but advised to keep perspective. "The Russians are the offenders right now," said Mr. Powell, but "the match that started the conflagration was from the Georgian side." Mr. Powell said to keep the strategic picture in mind: "You have to treat Russia as a proud country and treat them in a straightforward, businesslike, objective way, and not emotionally."

Mr. Kissinger, father of detente with the Soviets, concurred. "We need Russia for a solution of the Iranian problem," he said. "It is helpful to cooperate with Russia, not just on the proliferation question but on the issues of energy." His bottom-line assessment: "This Russia is not democratic, but it is also not what it was before, and one must permit some evolution to take place."

Mr. Kissinger offered a similar prescription for dealing with a rising China. His advice: We are likely to have intense disagreements with China, but "the question is whether we can imagine and work on a world in which China and the United States do not look at each other as adversaries, but as possibly cooperating."

Beyond the specifics, these five former secretaries of state made clear that the next president could find a bipartisan foundation upon which to build his global agenda. This is especially important given that with the recent collapse on Wall Street, a President Obama or McCain will face making foreign policy in an age of limits. But, as Ms. Albright wryly put it, the next occupant of the Oval Office should always keep this in mind: "Remember, you wanted this job."

Karl F. Inderfurth, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state, and Frank Sesno, a CNN special correspondent, are on the faculty at George Washington University. Derek Chollet is a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Together they helped organize the meeting of the five secretaries of state.