George W. Obama?

The Making of George W. Obama is an essay in the current issue of Foreign Policy by my old TNI colleague Chris Brose.

It is an interesting read, especially because of his view that second-term Bush is likely to continue under first term Obama.

... there be little change on issues of global grand strategy. A refrain from the campaign was rebuilding damaged ties with America’s allies. But those ties have largely been rebuilt already—in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Obama can certainly improve these relations further, especially with real action on climate change. But another challenge may be managing the bubbles of overinflated expectations for his presidency that will soon begin bursting in allied capitals.

Bush will also bequeath to Obama a realistic strategy for managing the rise of great powers. By pushing China, India, Japan, Brazil, and others to be responsible stakeholders in the international order, the Bush administration showed that “the rise of the rest” need not be synonymous with America’s decline. In fact, it might actually enhance U.S. influence.

Back at a magazine roundtable in 2007, Ian Bremmer said something quite similar (he used the term Bush-lite) to note that no matter who took over after--Democratic or Republican--the overall parameters of policy were unlikely to change in any radical direction.

Interesting arguments to consider as the Bush Administration enters its final days.