Senior Fellow on International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
Senior Fellow on International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations and columnist for the Washington Post
PROFILE
Sebastian Mallaby
Guest
FROM Sebastian Mallaby
Which Way, L.A.?
Can President Obama Change the Subject? The Constitution gives the President authority to conduct foreign policy, but the President 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?
To the Point
Can President Obama Change the Subject? 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 .
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