Is anyone surprised that the Community Organizer President who couldn't even manage a web site to provide health care can't understand, let alone prevail in the difficult arena of foreign policy? We might just chalk up Obama's campaign promise to make America respected again in the world as yet another broken promise but sadly, this broken ramifications has dangerous consequences for world peace.
Team Obama snarked that when they came into office they would use "smart power" and diplomacy to replace the cowboy, blunderings of George W. Bush. Obama told the masses in Berlin in 2008 that his election would bring a new golden age of peace:"People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time." Just words. Just speeches. No substance at all!
Now, as the world spirals into ever greater chaos even Obama's prime defenders are having trouble. Here's an excerpt from the New York Times report on Obama's Asian trip:
Obama Suffers Setbacks in Japan and the MideastNo Pivot to Canada
TOKYO — President Obama encountered setbacks to two of his most cherished foreign-policy projects on Thursday, as he failed to achieve a trade deal that undergirds his strategic pivot to Asia and the Middle East peace process suffered a potentially irreparable breakdown.
...
The setbacks, though worlds apart in geography and history, speak to the common challenge Mr. Obama has had in translating his ideas and ambitions into enduring policies. He has watched outside forces unravel his best-laid plans, from resetting relations with Russia to managing the epochal political change in the Arab world. On Thursday, as Russia staged military exercises on the border with Ukraine, Mr. Kerry denounced broken promises from the Kremlin but took no specific action.
Now that Obama's pivot to Asia has failed, will he try and pivot closer to home? Sadly, Canada isn't happy with Obama. After being insulted many times over the Keystone Pipeline project a report in Bloomberg describes the Canadian government as shocked, jolted, irritated and frustrated with Obama.
Michael Goodwin: Media Turning on Obama
Writing in the New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin has an excellent article. It's worth reading in it's entirety. His main point is that the media's Obama enablers may be starting to have some remorse for propping up Obama all these years:
The evidence is everywhere that his ideas are flawed, that his view of economics, diplomacy, the military, history, science and religion are warped by his own narcissism. He doesn’t even talk a good game anymore.When Obama takes a break from bashing Republicans and looks around the world all he sees is trouble. Our friends are not happy with us and foes are coming out of the woodwork to cause trouble. All this was predicted with the election of a president whose only experience in foreign policy was the chip on his shoulder about projecting U.S. leadership. Now, the people who promised to do it smarter are left tweeting photos begging the bad guys to behave.
Yet it remains a fool’s errand to hope he will correct his ways. He is not capable; he looks in the mirror and sees only a savior.
It is equally clear that those who shielded him from facts and their own best judgment did him no favors. Out of fear and favor, they abdicated their duty to the nation, and they must share the burden of history’s verdict. After all, America’s decline happened on their watch, too.
P.S. If you are up for a longer review of the declining world situation I recommend Walter Russel Mead's take on "The Return of Geopolitics,The Revenge of the Revisionist Powers" in Foreign Affairs magazine. It seems Obama's message that so-called 20th Century rivalries were a thing of the past didn't reach the inbox for the Russians, the Chinese or the Iranians and North Koreans. Maybe Obama should send them a copy of his 2008 Berlin speech so they can get with the program!
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