I find it hard to avoid the conclusion that the United States is doing very well at the international Great Game under President Barack Obama.

Now, you may think U.S. hegemony is a good thing or a bad thing (personally I prefer it to the alternatives currently on offer). And you may disapprove of Obama's methods, which include the scary advent of drone warfare. But in terms of pure realpolitik, Obama seems to be very far from the weak, ineffective statesman that the Republicans try to portray him as.

Let's try to take an unbiased look at the scoreboard. The U.S. has one military enemy (international jihadists) and three geopolitical rivals — China, Russia and Iran. All have suffered setbacks during the Obama years.