NYT Room for Debate – Michael Cohen on Why Both Parties Are Out of Step
Source: The New York Times, 10/12/2011
ASP Senior Fellow Michael Cohen is featured author.
“There is perhaps no issue in American politics where the disconnect between the preferences of the American people and their elected leaders is greater than on America’s role in the world. According to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs yearly survey on public attitudes toward foreign policy, voters want the U.S. to be engaged internationally, but prefer that our involvement be more selective, with fewer wars and with burdens shared with others. Less than 10 percent want America to “continue to be the world’s pre-eminent world leader in solving international problems.”
Americans want foreign policy to be more restrained. But any politician who reflected that sentiment would be called ‘weak on security.’
The debate on the campaign trail, however, treats America’s leadership role and the limitless manner by which it defines its global interests as sacrosanct. If Mitt Romney’s recent speech at the Citadel is any indication, the 2012 campaign may largely revolve around the question of which candidate loves American power more…”
Read the rest at the New York Times…
