https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2008/09/02/not-the-medium-but-the-message/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 18:43:43 -0400<![CDATA[Joshua Muravchik at Commentary reviews the history of summitry from Potsdam to Nixon in China and concludes that personal contact between leaders is no substitute for sound diplomacy based on a shrewd appreciation of national interests. In fact the illusion that &#8220;world peace&#8221; is automatically advanced by talking proved fatal on more than one occasion. Muravchik notes that two of the most disastrous meetings in recent history &#8212; between Neville Chamberlain and Hitler in Munich and Truman (I had earlier written FDR) with Joseph Stalin in Potsdam &#8212; set the stage for conflicts which would subsequently shake the world.  Chamberlain believed that if one summit was good, then several would be even better. Muravchik writes that &#8220;the story of Munich itself has been too often told to bear repeating, but it is worth recalling that it was not a single meeting but a series of three, with each  serving to embolden Hitler further.&#8221;]]>Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:45:37 -0400<![CDATA[Richard Fernandez]]>https://pjmedia.com/richard-fernandez/2008/09/02/not-the-medium-but-the-message-n186029