John Ransom

I’m wistful for a time when America had a clear foreign policy, was respected in the world because we kept our word, a time when we could tell our enemies from our friends.

I’m wistful for a time when the world could count on America.

Instead, the Obama administration has turned America into the Disneyland Dad of the world, an immature spectacle of bribery, gift giving and don’t-tell-your-mother exploitation that seeks to have a good time with buddies rather than be respected.

The price of peace, it seems-- at least the Nobel variety of peace that Obama brings—is humiliation and decay; a dislodgement of American and civilized interests.

Because under Obama, America is neither liked nor respected; as a result our interests, and those of our allies around the world have waned.

Russia uses America as its rag doll in international relations, even rallying sympathy here and abroad for (ugh) Syria’s Baathist regime because Obama has no cogent foreign policy.

When you abandon the Ukraine, it’s taken for granted that Syria won’t rank high on your list.

In the Middle East you need a scorecard to tell which bad guys the US is supporting on which battlefield because it varies from day-to-day and from battle-to-battle.

Al Qaeda is the good guy in Syria, but the bad guy in Libya, except when it isn’t; like that time we gave Al Qaeda shoulder-fired missiles capable of bringing down commercial airliners.

In Europe, a string of embarrassing disclosures about US spying on European leaders have threatened to put a wedge in relations there in a way not seen since before World War II.

In Asia, the sleeping giant, China, no longer slumbers, but is active even if her strength is more apparent than it is real. Obama’s loath to offend because China has a ton of US cash he needs to finance government.

Predictably-- to anyone outside of the Obama administration-- these developments have the world nervous.But what makes the world even more nervous is the vacillation of America with no clear goals and no clear friends, and only enemies we seek to mollify.

John Ransom

John Ransom is the Finance Editor for Townhall Finance.