Obama Will Save Us All From Straw Men

Barack Obama has articulated his doctrine. And where FDR had his Four Freedoms, and Harry Truman would fight the spread of communism, Barack Obama … doesn't do stupid s---. It is at least simple, writes Michael Gerson at the Washington Post, though it's a bit lacking in rhetorical heft. "It is hard to carve the insipid into marble." It's no wonder, then, that when Obama delivers speeches, like his West Point address, that he "does not inspire. He does not persuade. He justifies himself. The world he depicts is a choice between foolhardy extremes."

America will not invade every country on Earth—but neither will it hide in a bunker like a turtle. "America will lead the global war against straw men; on all other matters, let's not get carried away." Essentially, Obama's foreign policy is to justify whatever he believes is prudent by caricaturing his critics. But "a doctrine of risk aversion can be justified only by minimizing the seriousness of global challenges." The doctrine's "vapidity is evident to leaders around the world," making them less inclined to trust or fear US leadership. Click for Gerson's full column. (More Barack Obama stories.)