Republicans have been on quite a foreign-policy journey in the last two decades. They show one instinct to withdraw, to let the world police itself, and then events and a reputation for toughness move them toward a desire for action and the desire to firm up America’s global leadership.
George W. Bush ran on implementing a “humble foreign policy,” which he meant to be a corrective to Clinton-era adventurism and high-handedness. The shock of the September 11 terrorist attacks sent Bush searching for a new worldview. By his second inaugural, he was vowing to make America the leader of a global democratic revolution against tyranny just about everywhere. The extremely predictable waxing of Iranian influence in Iraq, and Sunni lashing out at being deposed as the top group in their nation, led to historic defeats for Republicans.
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