WSJ article.
Former finance chief says Japan’s relationship with the US is key, which is code for, “I won’t break my predecessor’s basing deal.”
But then he’s quick to add that China is “equally important.”
When Japan tells you that, understand that’s as good as the world telling you that.
What that tells you is that there is no such thing as “hedging” against China’s rise anymore—except in a purely internal sense. We can gear up all we want, say, militarily, and we’ll certainly find friends in that process, but there will be no political nor economic equivalent, and that means bluster without bulk.
Obama & Co. seem to have made that adjustment mentally, which sure beats anybody unable to make that adjustment. But that understanding is just the beginning of the new relationship, and that’s where I sense there’s no there there with this crew. And I’m beginning to believe that, given everything on their plate right now, this is the best we can expect.
That would say one-term to me, except I cannot, for the life of me, imagine right now who the Republicans would successfully mount from amidst their Tea Party-infused base, which, quite frankly, strikes me as mostly angry without answers.
But maybe that’s my stagnant disposable income talking . . ..