Like most presidents, Barack Obama took office with minimal foreign-policy experience—and, notes James Mann, author of The Obamians, it showed. But a philosophy did underlie White House policy: a return to foreign policy realism in the mold of George H. W. Bush and Brent Scowcroft. To some extent, the White House has been faithful to this approach, but tumult in the Middle East has required more “idealism” than expected. James Mann gives us a concise summation of his findings in Zócalo’s 3-Minute Drill.