Migration

What happened in the Mediterranean recently is appalling.

And it isn't over.  As the Middle East and Northern Africa spiral into chaos, more and more people will try to escape that chaos.  And they will try to escape to Europe.  And Europe isn't interested in having Africans and Arabs living among them.  For all their enlightened social policies, Europeans are still as racist as any other group of people, still as tribal, still as exclusionary.

All of this means that it's time for Europe to take on responsibilities in its backyard that traditionally have been abandoned to the US.  As Obama - rightly - pulls America back from its role as world policeman, Europe and other regional actors will have to step up.

I'm sure the GOP will scream that this is diminishing America's greatness, but as Iraq showed, you are only as great as people think you are and continued flailing isn't going to impress anyone.