In the latest installment of his epic biography of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, Robert Caro reveals a man who obsessively sought power to assuage a misplaced sense of his own suffering.

Micah Zenko says John Brennan, chief adviser to President Obama on counterterrorism issues, has a unique and unprecedented role in shaping and implementing the president's vision for protecting the United States, its allies, and its interests from politically motivated violence.

Foreign policy has not played a major role in the presidential campaign so far, but a close race could make it a factor in courting "the moveable middle," says CFR's James Lindsay.

Charles A. Kupchan says, unlike Mitt Romney, Barack Obama not only has a plan to strengthen American statecraft, he's got four years of achievements to show for his efforts.

The Wall Street Journal explains how speeches by Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan and former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice invigorated and energized an otherwise lackluster Republican National Convention.

Leslie H. Gelb says Obama captured the political center at home on foreign policy – a feat for a Democrat – because he avoided costly mistakes abroad. He understood the limits of U.S. power, but not its strengths when encased in a good strategy, and thus failed to achieve solutions to big problems abroad.

Leslie H. Gelb reviews The Obamians: The Struggle Inside the White House to Redefine American Power by James Mann.

Peter Orszag makes the case that increasing electoral participation would improve American democracy.

Robert Rubin explains how the pressures of the "fiscal cliff" will present U.S. political leaders with a rare second chance to make critical fiscal reforms after the 2012 elections.

Former president Jimmy Carter discusses the foreign policy accomplishments of his administration, as well as his work with the Carter Center.

The Home Box Office History Makers Series focuses particular attention on the contributions made by a prominent individual at a critical juncture in international relations.

Elliott Abrams says that a clearer statement from President Obama about his determination to prevent Iranian acquisition of a nuclear weapon is still needed.

The next president should keep after al-Qaeda but mend relations with Congress on terrorism, reports this Brookings Institution campaign briefing.

From both the right and left, there has been a dramatic disconnect between President Obama's record and the public perception of his leadership: despite his demonstrated willingness to use force, neither side regards him as the warrior president he is, writes Peter L. Bergen.

Peter Orszag works through various approaches U.S. policymakers could take to head off fiscal catastrophe as a storm of tax increases, spending cuts, and a debt ceiling standoff looms at the end of the year.

Sebastian Mallaby argues that, by focusing on a "Buffett rule," President Obama is squandering his chance to sell voters on meaningful tax reform.

Jagdish Bhagwati criticizes President Obama for nominating Jim Yong Kim to the World Bank presidency over candidates who would pursue pro-reform, pro-growth policies.

Jim Hoagland writes that President Obama should be careful in planning major policies for the second term. Barring surprises, he writes, recent history shows that if re-elected at all, presidents get caught up in resolving issues created in their first terms.

Peter Orszag and Peter Diamond argue that, by forgoing revenue increases, Mitt Romney's plan for Social Security reform will have to rely on excessive benefit cuts to rein in long-term deficits.

Benn Steil's Financial Times op-ed shows that whereas the impact of the "Buffett Rule" on Warren Buffett's tax liability is trivial, the political capital he has accrued appears to be leveraging his investments.

Undersecretary of Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Robert D. Hormats addresses the CFR's Council of Councils inaugural conference.

The Council of Councils is an international initiative designed to connect leading foreign policy institutes from around the worked in a common conversation on issues of global governance and multilateral cooperation. The initiative is funded by a generous grant from the Robina Foundation.