Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared in 2005 that “the fundamental character of regimes matters more today than the international distribution of power,” and Senator John McCain, a US presidential candidate, has urged removing Russia from the Group of Eight advanced countries. Yet, in addition to its democracy agenda, the West has a realist agenda based on very tangible interests.
国务卿赖斯2005年宣称“今天政权的基本特征比国际权力分配更重要”，而准备参选总统的参议员麦凯恩要求把俄罗斯从八国集团中剔除出去。然而，除了这份民主日程表，西方还有一份基于切实利益的现实的日程表。