Dropping the Ball?

When he was President, Richard Nixon, for good or ill, always sought to take charge -- of his party, his country, the world. In his final book, the elder statesman sums up a lifetime of involvement in foreign affairs by admonishing his successors to do the same. "If the U.S. is to continue to lead in the world," writes Nixon, "it will have to resolve to do so and then take those steps necessary to turn resolution into execution."

Bill Clinton has not got the message. Now, 15 months into his term, the President seems to be approaching a kind of...