Liberals, in short, have not always

Liberals, in short, have not always been on the defensive when it comes to the use of American power. Nor have conservatives always treated foreign policy downsizing as weak and unpatriotic. Playing to the public’s interest in “peace” has been a prominent part of every single Republican administration’s political strategy since the 1970s. Richard Nixon led the way in such maneuvering. His opening to China, he exulted, would be “good to hit the Democrats with at primary time.” Running for reelection two decades later, George H. W. Bush seemed almost embarrassed by his foreign policy accomplishments. The congressional Republicans who opposed Barack Obama over Syria in September 2013 were not the first to think doing less might be good politics.