Successful foreign policy

There often is less difference than one might think between the foreign policies of successive U.S. administrations. This time, though, may be the exception.

Former President George W. Bush, quite possibly the most reviled person on the planet, was constantly accused of destroying America's image in the world and ruining our relations with other governments (as well as their publics).

President Obama, who was widely expected - including by himself - to reverse this negative trend, has chosen to do so by slighting traditional friends while wooing traditional adversaries. Columnist Charles Krauthammer provides a scorecard of those slighted to date: the United Kingdom, India, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Honduras. He doesn't mention Israel, but I guess that one is so obvious it needs no repetition.

Presumably Obama either thinks that the United States will become popular in those countries by stiffing their governments, or he expects improved ties with adversaries like Iran, Syria, Venezuela, and Islamist terrorist organizations like Hamas to more than make up the difference.

The historians will have plenty of grist for their mills.