The war president speaks of freedom and liberty, about America’s mission to cultivate those lofty goals “in every nation and culture … ending tyranny in our world.”

Jimmy Carter could not have said it better, but neither President Bush’s detractors nor his supporters would liken this president’s second inaugural address to the one who sought to put human rights at the forefront of U.S. foreign policy in the 1970s.

They might prefer to compare Bush’s vision to Woodrow Wilson’s call to action during World War I to keep the world safe for democracy. Or equate Bush’s eloquent vision for America as world savior in the 21st century to John F. Kennedy’s and Ronald Reagan’s tough talk to fight communism during the Cold War.

Bush didn’t mince words about his ambitions in a second term: “We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people. America’s belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human liberty.”

Carter, of course, disagrees with Bush’s pre-emptive military approach in Iraq. In fact, Carter’s negotiating style today as a human-rights advocate puts a premium on appeasing bullies to extract grudging concessions. Maybe that’s because he learned during his presidency that America can’t champion human rights virtually alone. It must build coalitions that sway even the “unwilling.”

At home, Carter failed during his presidency to move his human-rights agenda forward because it required the type of sacrifice that America’s elites abhor. He would have used the big stick of economic sanctions and the soft touch of diplomacy. Capitalist markets function in a moral vacuum, though.

It is one reason why capitalism, for all its promise of individual initiative and creativity, doesn’t exist in its pure form. What’s proved to succeed is capitalism tempered with government safety nets, as well as religious and civic networks, that help the sick, children, the elderly and those working dirt-cheap jobs to survive capitalism’s excesses. Whether in Afghanistan or America, mixed economies that protect the most vulnerable strengthen democracy and give people hope.

Four years ago Bush believed free markets would build democracies out of authoritarian governments. Embracing the Pat Buchanan isolationist wing of the GOP, he vowed the United States would not become the world’s policeman.

Spreading democracy remains a noble cause — particularly when Bush promises a U.S. policy that would encourage oppressed people to fashion their own models.

Yet let’s not confuse Bush’s talk of a “moral” obligation to spread freedom throughout the world with any substantive changes in America’s Realpolitik. Money rules.

For all his bluster about “this untamed fire of freedom” reaching “the darkest corners of our world,” don’t expect Bush to sacrifice the billions of dollars in U.S. investments in communist China in an attempt to unchain its jailed dissidents. Or to meddle in oil-rich Russia, for that matter, despite President Vladimir Putin’s transparent attempts to clamp down on political dissent there. Or in Saudi Arabia, where the royal family, which continues to funnel money to the madrassas that teach young boys to hate America, remains Bush family “friends.”

That’s America’s reality check — despite Bush’s fiery rhetoric on a blustery cold inauguration day. He shared a noble vision. It’s his botched-up execution of those democratic goals in Iraq that continue to divide Americans of good will and cast doubt on Bush’s ability to advance the cause of freedom.

Myriam Marquez is an editorial page columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. Her e-mail address is mmarquez@orlandosentinel.com.