THE MIDDLE WAY

Which presidents of recent times have been most successful in international affairs?

Chollet, executive vice president of the German Marshall Fund, suggests that three recent presidents exhibited a sensible approach to foreign policy: Dwight Eisenhower, George H.W. Bush, and Barack Obama (the author served in multiple senior positions with the Obama administration). “These three leaders,” writes the author, “demonstrated how the United States can exercise prudent and powerful leadership in the world and stand as pillars of de­cency, humility, and strength.” Each of them represented a fundamentally conservative approach. None was quick to reach for military solutions, but none shied from them, either, and all three focused on keeping a balance between foreign and domestic commitments. Chollet’s book, while not belaboring the point, stands as a rebuke to Trump’s handling of allies and enemies alike. In the place of his wild inconsistencies and angry bluster, Eisenhower, Bush, and Obama exhibited a keen awareness that what Eisenhower called “the Middle Way” was the place where progress might be slow but the real battles were to be fought, and all three sought to rein in the “arrogance of power” that so characterizes the current president. Chollet notes that although Obama has been scourged as a radical leftist, his policies, particularly foreign policy, were framed in terms that Eisenhower and Bush would have endorsed. The author tests his thesis on six crises, two apiece, that the three presidents faced and met with that middle-way policy, including Obama’s dealings with the Assad regime in Syria: “While Obama wanted to get rid of Assad, he did not want the United States to be on the hook to do it.” Obama further opposed the war in Iraq but wanted to focus closely on fighting terrorists in Afghanistan. Bush denounced “America First”–ism. Chollet’s thesis is too often stated and restated, but his conclusions are worth holding in mind as one evaluates presidential performance.

A book for foreign-policy wonks to debate and cherish.