On this day in 1972, President Richard M. Nixon made history, and showed some political flexibility, by landing in China. It was the story of the year and one of the most interesting foreign-policy decisions of the post-war period, specially because of his political past:

"Nixon seemed an unlikely candidate to thaw those chilly relations.

During the 1940s and 1950s, he had been a vocal cold warrior and had condemned the Democratic administration of Harry S. Truman for "losing" China to the communists in 1949."

President Nixon's move paved the way for the China of today. In other words, cars instead of bicycles. Skyscrapers instead of simple buildings. It also contributed to the outsourcing of thousands of manufacturing jobs, i.e. "Made in China" is everywhere!   
The jury is still out on just how much the U.S. got out of this arrangement. At the same, most Americans are not old enough to remember Mao or the China that some of us remember as kids.   

Nevertheless, as Seth Mandel wrote a couple of years ago, President Nixon left us with a great expresion, or  ".....any major politician’s rebuke to his ideological compatriots, no matter how superficial, is a “Nixon-to-China moment.”"

Is there a "Nixon to China moment" in President Obama's next two years? What is he willing to say or do to rebuke his base?  Let me give President Obama a couple of ideas:

1) Call it Radical Islam. Stop the dancing around and call them what they are, as painful as that will be to the base.

2) Admit that "we bit more than we could chew" with ObamaCare. Call for repeal of ObamaCare and work on a bipartisan bill that addresses the real health care concerns, like "pre-existing conditions" and access for some people.   .

It probably won't happen because President Obama does not have an executive mind, or the kind of person who understands that things change and so must presidents. Obama is not capable of a "Nixon in China moment" and that's really bad for the country.

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