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There was a guy on Dennis Prager years ago who wrote a book about why presidents so often fail in foreign policy. The skills that get them ahead in American politics are those of persuading people who start out with mostly the same worldview. Sure there are political differences, but the vast majority of Americans agree on the basic rules we live under (at least until Obama). They agree that there should be elections, the bill of rights, etc. The skills that get them ahead in our system are persuasion, compromise, etc. They are good at it or they wouldn’t be elected.

Good point. That also accounts for Chamberlain's failure with Hitler and FDR's failures with Stalin. Subsequent politicians learned from their mistakes.

Peters may have a point about the ticket punching mentality in government nowadays. There's an assumption that there's a specific set of things one has to do and a narrow range of opinions one can have in order to rise through the system.

Maybe outsiders who aren't just climbing the ladder by doing what they think they're supposed to do have a better understanding of foreign despots who also rose in unconventional -- indeed, brutal -- ways.

[RightOnTheBorder]

It has always been our leftist leaders that have “failed” against our enemies. After Decades of this we might learn that they are not trying to protect our interests and failing but rather they don’t see America’s enemies as their enemies.

Chamberlain’s failure with Hitler was not that he didn’t understand what Hitler was, he simply didn’t think Hitler cold harm his power or politics. FDR didn’t fail with Stalin, he admired the man and wished he had the same power here. The only people leftists see as true enemies are people who are a threat to their power.

You watch a leftist react to a true threat to his power and you will see the creampuff veneer fall off immediately, prep school education or no.