Conclusion

Abstract

If Americans have variously felt the attractions of feeling good, safe, and strong and have come to expect the nation’s foreign policy to deliver on those desires, Obama found himself amongst a juxtaposition of competing cultural and strategic demands. His understanding of US strength pointed more to the foundations of US power rather than the application of its force. But that stance cut directly against US desires to feel good, safe, and strong. Then again, these inclinations were built into US diplomatic and foreign policy narratives, and the core of its identity through powerful cultural stories that too frequently misread, misrepresented, and misunderstood the forces with which they contended. The landscape of US foreign policy remained impressionistic despite the cumulative lessons of history and US intervention.