Posted on 11/22/2009 2:57:06 PM PST by La Enchiladita
Barack Obama's first visit to Asia since his inauguration was one of the most disappointing trips by any U.S. president to the region in decades, especially given media-generated expectations that "Obamamania" would make it yet another triumphal progression. It was a journey of startlingly few concrete accomplishments, demonstrable proof that neither personal popularity nor media deference really means much in the hard world of international affairs.
The contrast between Asia's reception for Obama and Europe's is significant. Although considered a global phenomenon, Obamamania's real center is Europe. There, Mr. Obama reigns as a "post-American" president, a multilateralist carbon copy of a European social democrat. Asians operate under no such illusions, notwithstanding the "Oba-Mao" T shirts briefly on sale in China. ...
What the president lacked in popular adulation, however, he more than made up for in self-adulation. In Asia, he labeled himself "America's first Pacific president," ignoring over a century of contrary evidence. The Pacific has been important to America since the Empress of China became the first trading ship from the newly independent country to reach the Far East in 1784. Theodore Roosevelt created a new Pacific country (Panama) and started construction on the Panama Canal to ensure that America's navy could move rapidly from its traditional Atlantic bases to meet Pacific challenges. William Howard Taft did not merely live on Pacific islands as a boy, like Obama, but actually governed several thousand of them as Governor-General of the Philippines in 1901-1903. Dwight Eisenhower served in Manila from 1935 to 1939, and five other presidents wore their country's uniform in the Pacific theater during World War II—two of whom, John F. Kennedy and George H.W. Bush, very nearly perished in the effort.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
“he labeled himself “America’s first Pacific president,”
And Asia promptly offered to drop him over the Pacific......
The Oregon Treaty (1846) and Mexican Cession (1848) during Polk's Presidency established our Pacific coast line.
The comments on this article on the WSJ website are mostly supportive of Obama and derogatory of John Bolton. How deluded people must be to carry lies around in their own heads.
Up is down.
In is out.
Submission is Victory.
I submit to Obama the same thing that I told my brother-in-law straight out: "If you're going to lie to me, at least respect me enough to give me a good one. Don't tell me some crap that I can see right through before it's even done leaving your pie-hole."
Obama almost got it right.
The FIRST PATHETIC RESIDENT is what he meant to say, wasn’t it?
Hoo Flung Dung Obama
That picture is just perfect. A million words.
“What branch of the military was Clinton in?”
I think the 69th Humm-job division stationd in Harlem.
John Bolton is one beautiful dude, a blessing to America.
I want one of those T-shirts!
Heehee, he’s such an ah so
Reagan was Governor of California prior to becoming President.
California has a rather long coastline on the Pacific Ocean!
Ding, ding: we have a winner!!
Just a little joke here... instead of barfing on the Japanese president or PM, he made them barf.... his pompous, self-important speech was truly awful.
Ah, but Hugo Chavez says maybe Idi Amin wasn’t all that bad, a nice guy trying to do good... wait......
I think the 69th Humm-job division stationd in Harlem.
LOL Good one.
Can I post that on Facebook?
Feel free.
>Just a little joke here... instead of barfing on the Japanese president or PM, he made them barf.... his pompous, self-important speech was truly awful.
I think I can re-enact it, without even having seen/heard it:
Me, me me. I, me, um, my experience, I. UM. As you all know, me, um I, I, um, me, I think, me um I.
Is that about right?
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