Obama Still Channeling His Inner Carter

James Carafano / May 10, 2011

Comparing the foreign policies of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama has been like comparing apples to, well, apples.

Carter tried accommodating America’s enemies. He cut back on defense. He made humility the hallmark of American diplomacy. Sound familiar? It might be too much to argue that the current President’s doctrine plagiarized the peanut farmer. But it is not too much of a stretch.

Carter and Obama not only had similar styles of engaging with the rest of the world, but both of their presidencies fell into the same pitfalls. Enemies perceived their penchant for half-measures and exploited them. (more…)