When we talked when you were campaigning for the presidency, I asked you which Administration's foreign policy you admired. And you said that you looked at George H.W. Bush's diplomacy. Now that you are President, how has your thinking evolved?
It is true that I've been complimentary of George H.W. Bush's foreign policy, and I continue to believe that he managed a very difficult period very effectively. Now that I've been in office for three years, I think that--I'm always cautious about comparing what we've done to what others have done, just because each period is unique, each set of challenges is unique. But what I can say is that I made a commitment to change the trajectory of American foreign policy in a way that would end the war in Iraq, refocus on defeating our primary enemy, al-Qaeda, strengthen our alliances and our leadership in multilateral fora and restore American leadership in the world. And I think we have accomplished those principal goals. It's an American leadership that recognizes the rise of countries like China, India and Brazil. It's a U.S. leadership that recognizes our limits in terms of resources and capacity. And yet what I think we've been able to establish is a clear belief among other nations that the United States continues to be the one indispensable nation in tackling major international problems. We still have huge challenges ahead, and one thing I've learned over the last three years is that as much as you'd like to guide events, stuff happens. And you have to respond, and those responses, no matter how effective your diplomacy or your foreign policy, are sometimes going to produce less-than-optimal results. But our overall trajectory, our overall strategy, has been very successful.
Mitt Romney says you are timid, indecisive and nuanced.
I think Mr. Romney and the rest of the Republican field are going to be playing to their base until the primary season is over. Once it is, we'll have a serious debate about foreign policy. I will feel very confident about being able to put my record before the American people and saying that America is safer, stronger and better-positioned to win the future than it was when I came into office. And there are going to be some issues where people may have some legitimate differences, and there are going to be some serious debates, just because they're hard issues. But overall, I think it's going to be pretty hard to argue that we have not executed a strategy over the last three years that has put America in a stronger position than it was when I came into office.
With all this pressure that you have been able to put on Iran--and the economic pressure--suppose the consequence is that the price of oil keeps rising but Iran does not make any significant concessions. Won't it be fair to say that the policy will have failed?