As published for Shadow Government on foreignpolicy.com on December 22, 2009:

Editors’ note: As the year winds down, Shadow Government will indulge in the conceit that is the birthright of opinionated people everywhere: providing our own  ”best of” list relating to foreign policy. Today’s list: “Gifts we would put under the White House Christmas tree.” In the coming days: Person of the Year, Story of the Year, more…

Peter Feaver

I wish I could give President Obama a cure for the Winner’s Curse, the phenomenon of the winning bidder in an auction paying more than the item is worth just so they can win. Variants of this curse have characterized the President’s first year in office, whether it is the challenge of dealing with fractious hyper-partisan super-majorities in the House and Senate, the unrealistic expectations hyped up by campaign rhetoric, the bloated stimulus package, or, more recently, agreeing to anything, anything, provided that it gets Obamacare 60 votes in the Senate. President Obama has many things to tout in the annual laundry list we call the State of the Union address, but every one of them is probably worth less than what was paid to purchase them.

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