“Where idealism and realism meet, that is where there is the greatest evolutionary tension.” Idealism gives priority to ideals, social reforms and morals, wanting to benefit not only yourself, but the world around you, believing that people are generally good. In contrast, realism prioritizes national interest and security, placing emphasis on promoting one's own power and influence, assuming that people are self-centered by nature. Based on the above definitions, idealism and realism are significantly different from each other, and their divergence in thought is most evident when various proponents of each such as Woodrow Wilson, Henry Lodge, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush have different perspectives on comparable issues. in politics. Consequently, an idealist's reaction to a particular issue would be very different from a realist's response. Therefore, idealism deals with normative ideas and allows for improvements in the progress of not only a single state, but the entire world, however realism focuses solely on the benefits of one's own nation. To begin with, Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of The United States is one of the most influential and well-known idealistic countries in history. He is recognized as an idealist for his admirable ambitions and his pursuit of excellence. He played an important role after the First World War, when he presented his Fourteen Points. The Fourteen Points were intended to bring peace to the world and ensure that another tragic war like the Great War would not happen again. His fourteen point speech is a perfect example of idealism because in the speech Wilson talked about free trade, self-determination, disarmament, freedom of the seas, and the most important part of the speech was the National League......half of the document. .....racy, 2008, BarackObama.com.• MacAskill, Ewen. "Barack Obama ends Iraq war. 'Now is the time to move on' | World News | The Guardian." Latest news, sport and commentary from the Guardian | The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 1 September 2010. Web. 18 November 2011. .• Fedman, David. “Rethinking Asia: “Smart Power” and US-China Policy.” The Olive and the Arrow. The Word Press, March 8, 2009. Web. November 18, 2011. .• Dimitter, Lowell. World politics. 1st ed. vol. 55. New York: Johns Hopkins UP, 2002. 38-65.• Flannagan, Michael. “Foreign policy is better with Obama than with Bush” The Lantern - Ohio State University. College Publisher Network, October 25, 2011. Web. November 17. 2011. .