奥巴马不愿 — — 或者不能，因为美国国内政治党派队里日益严重 — — 在解决埃及、利比亚和叙利亚等国的危机中承担领导责任，这让美国地位的挑战者在2014年信心十足，而美国的盟国则心惊胆寒。
With Obama unwilling – or unable, due to rising political partisanship at home – to take the lead in addressing crises like those in Egypt, Libya, and Syria, challengers to American primacy took heart in 2014, and US allies took fright.