The more things change...

Commenting on US Vice-President Biden's Munich Declaration, George Friedman at Stratfor remarks on the striking continuity between the foreign policy of George Bush and that of Barack Obama, and suggests that the course of historical events may be a decisive factor:

Willingness to talk is important, but what is said is much more important. Obama’s first foray into foreign policy via Biden indicates that, generally speaking, he understands the constraints and pressures that drive American foreign policy, and he understands the limits of presidential power. Atmospherics aside, Biden’s positions — as opposed to his rhetoric — were strikingly similar to Cheney’s foreign policy positions.

We argued long ago that presidents don’t make history, but that history makes presidents. We see Biden’s speech as a classic example of this principle.