THINGS WERE A LOT BETTER IN 2008. IRAQ WAS STABLE, SYRIA WAS STABLE, YEMEN WAS STABLE, LIBYA WAS STABLE. . . . Michael Young: Obama alone bears the blame for the mess America has helped make of the Middle East. “The person most responsible for the foreign policy muddle is Obama himself. The president has often praised Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals, on the Lincoln administration and the strong, clashing personalities who served the president. This was Obama’s way of saying he sought to lead an administration of forceful individuals, no matter what their disagreements. This shows the president’s tolerance for confusion, and his hubris. Abraham Lincoln always had a clear sense of direction. No one would confuse Obama with Lincoln.”