In Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," the central figure- deep in Africa, in the Central Station- is Kurtz, a "universal genius," we are told, a man in Leopold's Congo not for the sordid mercenary aims of the other Europeans in the story, but the author of "a beautiful piece of writing" addressed to the "International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs."
It contained much rhetoric, but no practical suggestions- except, the narrator, Marlow, notes, for one scrawled postscript to the 'edifying' manuscript:

"Exterminate all the brutes!"
When Marlow approaches the Central Station, he sees what seem to be round knobs on the palisade, but which are actually the shrunken heads of some of these 'brutes.'
Kurtz is, we are told, "the product of all Europe." His adoring bride to be considers him to have been the perfection of every noble trait. Marlow does not have the heart to tell her the truth.
The irony, then, is that of a humanitarian becoming even more inhuman than his fellow pillagers of Africa, whose motives are clearly base, under a thin veneer of bringing "progress". Is there a similar irony in  this terse description of Major Hasan's impending deployment to another wilderness:
An Army spokeswoman says the suspect in the Fort Hood shootings had been scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan to counsel soldiers suffering from combat stress.
The contradiction between Kurtz' supposed aims, and his "methods," are only too apparent in the novel. But the problem is not just Kurtz. The problem is that the "pilgrims" from Europe- and the religious connotation is deliberate and apt- are destroying what Kurtz wants to "save"- so he says, and there is no reason to doubt he means it, though his "methods" reflect the underlying horrors of the situation- the Europeans are monsters masquerading as gods. 
We should fight wars with drones, if we are going to be as high-minded as Kurtz about our aims, if we are going to be humanitarians in distant places we are clueless about and where we do not understand what we are supposed to do. Drones do not require psychological counsel, nor do they go berserk under stress. (Their operators do, but their numbers are smaller and more manageable.).

Apparently, Rep. Anthony Weiner is not:

Bloomberg's meager five-point win left Democrats pondering what might have been if New York's Democratic donors hadn't turned their back on Thompson, if its politicians had worked for him, and most of all if President Barack Obama had offered anything more than the lamest words of praise.
"Maybe one of those Corzine trips could have been better spent in New York. Who knows?" remarked New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, who weighed his own run for mayor, referring to the White House's devout attention to the New Jersey contest.
"Maybe Anthony Weiner should have manned-up and run against Michael Bloomberg," shot back a White House official, who attributed the night's results across the board to anti-incumbent fervor. 

Not very progressive, or helpful, words from our non-progressive President's entourage.
We will make progress- in spite of him, and in spite of his faction within the Democratic Party. But with a President like this, what other idiocies do you think he will be man enough for?