That ’70s Feeling

Helle Dale / September 23, 2010

Americans appear to be taking a cue from the Obama Administration on foreign policy and the U.S.’s role in global affairs. Much like President Carter’s contention that a “national malaise” had befallen Americans in the late 1970s, making everyone depressed if they were not so already, President Obama’s constant refrain that the United States has much to be humble about and should act accordingly, has taken a toll on Americans’ view of their role in the world.

The new opinion poll by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs suggests that Americans have deep concerns about global affairs in this second year of the Obama Administration. Of course, the global economic downturn has also had an impact on Americans’ attitude, as have the lengthy military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. Americans have a deepened “sense of vulnerability and pessimism about the future,” states the foreword to “Constrained Internationalism: Adapting to New Realities,” the most recent study in an annual series published by the Council since the 1970s. Here are some of the Council’s findings that have to be of concern: (more…)