Quote Originally Posted by AmericanPride View Post
I wouldn't necessarily say there exists an "Obama Doctrine" and if one does exist, that it's "realist" in nature. From day one, Obama made it clear that his administration would focus on domestic policy, primarily managing the financial crisis and implementation healthcare reform. The 2010 mid-term elections surprised everyone and the subsequent paralysis of government from bitter political infighting only deepened the administration's focus on playing small ball at home to even get a budget passed.

Looking at this week's poll numbers (Gallup) - Obama is trending above 50% among 18-29 year olds, non-whites, Hispanics, and blacks. And as of May, the top issues were unemployment and government inaction; foreign policy ranked at a distance #9.

That comes at a price for foreign policy. Obama had already committed the U.S. to withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan, and normalizing the GWoT through legal mechanisms to put it on a more stable and legitimate footing. And the other two conflicts (Libya, Syria) evidences caution about further foreign entanglements. I think Obama had the same concern of Johnson about foreign conflicts up-ending domestic ambitions. So - the foreign policy as a result is short-term, ad-hoc; a way to minimize costs to the administration while preserving any gains made, and shielding the domestic policy agenda. That means minimizing risks (i.e. Libya, Syria) and seeking short-term, clearly defined wins (bin Laden, new Iraq airstrikes) when the opportunity presents itself.

Is that realist? I don't think so. Opportunist and pragmatic, perhaps, but I don't think there's a clear underlying strategy with any long-term goals in mind (at least, long-term goals unique to Obama's administration and not inherited as a legacy policy; i.e. North Korea).
I would say after the the 2010 midterms, the Administrations main internal focus was foreign policy. It was the one area that the commander in chief can act with greater autonomy. He certainly seems to think it is his focus. (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/wo...anted=all&_r=0 ) With that, I think it is a bit of a stretch to say that internally there is no logic behind their actions. That they are just using pragmatism and thinking in the short term.