Brzezinski: Obama 'Understands the World Better Than Any Other Politician'

President Obama got high praise from Jimmy Carter’s former national security adviser on his comprehension of foreign policy.

Still, Zbigniew Brzezinski had some words of caution for the current commander in chief about his meeting next week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Obama let himself be “humiliated” last time Bibi visited.

“Prior to the elections, they’ll be tempted to strike,” Brzezinski said of Israeli action toward Iran’s nuclear program on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” Sunday. “And this is why I think the president, when he talks to Netanyahu on March 5th, might take into account the fact that, first of all, he was humiliated the last time Netanyahu was around, and the president of the United States shouldn’t be so humiliated, and that he represents the American national interests.”

Zakaria noted that Brzezinski has given Obama sort of a “mixed grade” through his tenure.

“My view, however, is the following: one, he really understands the world better than any other politician,” Brzezinski said. “And I wouldn’t even waste time comparing him to what we hear from the Republican candidates for presidency, because that’s so unrealistic and so primitive that it’s embarrassing.”

He questioned whether Obama has the self-confidence to use that grand understanding well, saying of the Mideast peace process, “When push came to shove, he didn’t try.”

But Brzezinski said he would support Obama’s re-election “without question” this year.

“I mean, look at those Republican debates. I must say I am literally — I literally feel embarrassed as an American when I see those people orate,” he said. “One of them sounds like a medieval Savonarola. Another one is trying to explain why he has some of his wealth located in the Cayman Islands. And someone else would go back to 1780. And then there is someone who is using his credentials as a repudiated speaker of the Congress to be president. I mean, this is just embarrassing.”