As former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger now privately concedes, he and other top officials in the Nixon and Ford administrations had one major failing: an ignorance of international economics. No one was more aware of that shortcoming than the U.S.'s allies, who were often hurt and confused by American insensitivity to their economic problems.
Jimmy Carter is anxious to avoid that blind spot in his Administration. One of his first acts was to dispatch Vice President Walter Mondale to discuss economic issues with U.S. allies. He has also surrounded himself with economic...