America, the Economizing Power

My friend and colleague Jeremi Suri, he of the new Liberty's Surest Guardian, has an op-ed in the New York Times today in which he argues that the United States rigorously should set priorities--and shed responsibilities and ambitions--in foreign policy. This goes beyond the Obama administration's national security strategy of last year (although it echoes it), and it also goes beyond the Libya "leading from behind" mantra. I like the article but wonder whether it doesn't expect too much of the president, who, of course, should still lead, and too little of others, especially the Republican opposition. Suri's first national priority, after all, is to preserve the dollar's global reserve currency status, and if there's anything we've learned this year is that getting America's financial house in order requires bi-partisan decisions. There's more to be said about this piece, which does get us into the specifics of how a declining hegemon like the U.S. ought to reorder its priorities, but I have to go read about the Cold War now.