Bloomberg View: Obama's Foreign Policy To-Do List

Every four years, as 300 million Americans go into the convulsion of another presidential election, the other 6.6 billion people on the planet must wait as the candidates slug it out. Treaty talks, potentially life-or-death decisions, and diplomatic appointments are in limbo. Then, if a new president is elected, the rest of the world must brace for a bad case of policy whiplash, as a new U.S. administration seeks to undo the work of its predecessor.

At the least, President Obama’s reelection has averted that dizzying prospect. This may be one reason why so many world leaders seemed to react with relief. A little continuity isn’t a bad thing, especially given the Robespierre-like intensity with which voters have dispatched other world leaders since the financial crisis.