Obama's Foreign Policy Needs a Domestic Boost

How can Obama deal with his mounting foreign policy problems? By succeeding at home

Brooks Kraft / Corbis for Time

"We're absolutely going to get a health-care-reform bill passed this year. No question about it," Senator John Kerry told me recently. We were in New York City for the U.N. General Assembly festivities, talking about the frustrations the Obama Administration is facing overseas, especially in Afghanistan, when I changed the subject and asked about health care. Kerry's certainty led to an unexpected thought: Barack Obama may well be having an easier time handling domestic issues than foreign ones. Indeed, he may be headed for the most successful domestic-policy year by a Democratic President since Lyndon Johnson's legislative tidal wave of 1965....

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!