What If Washington Is NOT Broken?

Topics: Washington Unplugged

This post is by Simone Perez

Robert Kagan, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Bob Schieffer on Friday's "Washington Unplugged" that despite intense partisan debate over domestic issues, the United States government has been able to put party lines aside when dealing with foreign policy.

"If you think about the really big issues that this administration has had to deal with, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, wars expensive potentially controversial, on all three of those issues there is really very little difference between republicans and the administration," Kagan said.

Reiterating his sentiments from an essay that appeared in Foreign Policy magazine, Kagan stated that although the Obama administration began their time in office by adamantly trying to distance themselves from the Bush administration's policies, the president has now aligned himself more closely to his predecessor on Middle East issues, especially Iran.

The only difference now is that President Obama has been able to build an international consensus on Iran's stance.

With the blurring of partisan lines, Kagan said that America will be stronger under its newfound unity.

Kagan also admitted that "bipartisanship is never pretty" but that the Obama administration recognized that their strategies were not working and needed to revert back to similar policies from the Bush era. According to Kagan, this has not meant less support from the Democratic party.

"It is hard to think of a time in recent memory when you have had such bipartisan support on these kinds of major issues," he said.

The former member of the Reagan administration seemed hopeful that this bipartisanship will continue and that Washington is not in fact "broken."

Watch the full interview above. And then following the interview, check out a discussion about the upcoming baseball season with CBS News' Bob Schieffer, Bob Orr, Robert Hendin, Ward Sloane and Rick Kaplan.

"Washington Unplugged" appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.

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by stn_sage March 6, 2010 7:01 PM EST: Mr. Kagan's comments are LAUGHABLE!

So, we have bipartisanship on foreign affairs, huh? If that's the case,
WHAT is that based on?

Iraq WASN'T responsible for 911! That's a FACT!
Iraq had no WMD! That is also a FACT!

Yet, the USA invaded a sovereign nation without just CAUSE!

THAT, being the case! HOW... in heaven's name...will that make us "stronger" more "unity" either internally or externally?!

True answer: It WON'T!

Mr. Kagan is fulfilling his true role as part of a 'think tank'! That is, 'spin' reality to the public and try to justify all the missteps of the politicians!

Only don't expect the public to believe your 'B.S.'!; Reply to this comment


by RobAla March 5, 2010 9:34 PM EST: "America will be stronger under its newfound unity?" What is this guy smoking? The US Constitution is not broken, but Washington is run by the most corrupt and partisan bunch I have ever seen. It is broken because of the people who are in charge in Washington. If we can replace them with honorable people, it will no longer be broken. I agree with "KeithDrippingSprings". Kagan is "full of crap".; Reply to this comment


by noloyalisti March 5, 2010 8:43 PM EST: No it is not broken. It is completely corrupted by money from the rich, greedy big corporations. The write all the regulations for their own profit while We the People die and fight over the scraps.; Reply to this comment


by informedcitizen March 5, 2010 6:38 PM EST: very interesting article!; Reply to this comment

by KeithDrippingSprings March 5, 2010 6:31 PM EST

I really could care less if our foreign policies are working. We have Americans that aren't eating very well and they are losing their homes.

Our foreign policy failed and has continued to fail ever since the gas lines during the Nixon administration. Every recession we have experienced since then has been proceeded by a disruption of energy delivery or a dramatic increase in energy cost. Just as it did this time.

There was plenty of dishonest crap going on in the financial sector and they needed to get caught. But, the important issue, the rise in cost of gas, and other fuels caused the people down here on the bottom of the economic ladder to have to give up something in order to continue getting back and forth to work. They had to give up something in order to continue to feed their families as the cost of food started to rise. House payments, car payments, credit card payments, everything suffered.

America didn't have the huevos to demand lower oil prices. And our government is so stupid that they continued to fill the strategic oil reserve. No politician has had the courage to demand an oil policy. They gave us a couple of window dressing policies that so they could claim they did something. But they didn't do anything, because their Oil Company contributors wouldn't let them. If in fact something is right about our policies then someone must have paid for it because the sold out Congressmen and Senators don't do any thing for free.

So, basically I think Kagan is full of @rap. I was on Reagan's Oil policy committee and that was the most expensive do nothing trip I ever took anywhere. If his resume is from the Regan administration you have to take anything he says for what it is worth, nothing.

Reply to this comment


by tmadd1 March 6, 2010 8:51 AM EST: you know, i tend to agree with what you are saying about crooked career politians but your facts are not straight about the gas lines. in 1979 carter introduced price controls on gas... there were gas lines around the block and super high prices on fuel. as well as 20% mortgage rates, 22% unemployment and hyperinflation....
he didn't inherit that either... he created it. nixon was no prize either but he definitely did some good he never get's credit for. like opening up china... that was huge. and despite what propaganda people spread about him in the 70's that one move might be the most important foreign policy move of the 20th century.


by scottyusa March 5, 2010 5:29 PM EST: I also find it interesting that before Obama was elected and during his campaign the democrats and republicans were on opposite ends of the scale on the wars. Now, that is the ONLY thing they agree on. That is also the best change we have seen from our president and his adminitration.; Reply to this comment


by Brokennews March 5, 2010 4:57 PM EST: "The Obama administration recognized that their strategies were not working and needed to revert back to similar policies from the Bush era."

That's gotta hurt!; Reply to this comment