Many presidents have diverted attention from domestic defeats by focusing on foreign policy, but that option may not be available to Barack Obama. While the Constitution gives the President authority to conduct foreign policy, he still needs Congress to appropriate money and the Senate to ratify treaties. New Republican committee chairs in the House take a dim view of foreign aid, climate change, the arms treaty with Russia or reducing troops in Afghanistan. They want to crack down on Iran and lighten up on Israeli settlements. They might give Obama a break on free trade, but will Democrats go along? Now, the Fed has outraged the rest of the world by deciding to print money.
Can President Obama Change the Subject?
Credits
Guests:
- Josh Rogin - a Washington Post columnist covering foreign policy and national security - @joshrogin
- Christine Fair - Georgetown University - @CChristineFair
- Bruce Stokes - Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund
- Sebastian Mallaby - Senior Fellow on International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations