Foreign policy is a complicated and bottomless topic, which forces politicians to address it with abstract words and punchy sound bites. Smart politicians know the difference between the messy realities and the simple pictures they paint. The danger lies with politicians who mistake the slogans for reality.

Jeb Bush asserts that when it comes to these matters, he should not be confused with his brother or his father. “I am my own man,” he declared in a speech Wednesday before the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.