Barack Obama didn’t see any meaningful moral difference between the Iranian and the Saudi regimes, and he could not imagine any American interest in taking sides in what amounts to an Islamic civil war. Freed to some extent from dependence on the Saudis by fracking, he hoped to chart a middle course between the two countries. The Saudis hated him for it.
Ironically, Donald Trump, whose foreign policy has been purely transactional in virtually all other respects, went all in with the Saudis. For a variety of reasons, few of which are defensible to the average American, he gave MBS a blank check. The latter repaid him by committing murders, kidnapping a head of state, imprisoning female activists, and engaging in a brutal and inconclusive war in Yemen. Congress, including Republicans, howled, but Trump was undeterred. After all, they were selling us oil on the cheap! Right? Right?
Well, not exactly.
The Democratic nominee, whoever he or she is, is almost certain to revert to the Obama model if elected. Saudi Arabia is too important to be ignored, but we don’t need to be writing them any more blank checks.