Obama - "Judge me by the people with whom I surround myself."
Posted on 08/09/2013 2:14:40 PM PDT by Kaslin
President Obama's decision to cancel his planned trip to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin was the right thing to do in light of Russia's decision to grant asylum to Edward Snowden. But it also illustrates problems of the president's own making.
One of Obama's chief aims upon assuming office was to remake the image of the United States in the world's eyes. And he has -- but not in the way he imagined.
Speaking in Cairo in 2009, Obama promised specifically a "new beginning" in American foreign policy. Many interpreted the speech to be merely a criticism of President George W. Bush's presidency and, particularly, the negative response to the war in Iraq among Arabs and others.
But the comments signaled something more troubling, a critique of America widely shared on the left: that we are a nation no better than others and should behave accordingly.
As the president famously said in 2009, "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." This view is common on the left but would strike most conservatives -- and, I suspect, most Americans -- as wrong-headed.
This is not to say the president doesn't love America. Barack Obama and many others on the left love America; however, they don't love the America that is, but the America they believe they can create. If only America could become the country the left envisions -- egalitarian among our own citizens and deferential to the rest of the world -- everyone would love us, or so they believe.
Obama took the left's view a step further. He seemed to think his own personal charisma could overcome America's benighted reputation with friends and foes alike. Remember, this is the man who thought he could sit down with Kim Jong-il, Fidel Castro and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and they would change their ways.
But instead of embracing Barack Obama and the new America he was creating, friends and foes alike came to view America as increasingly weak.
Certainly Putin seems to. How else could he grant Snowden asylum while patronizingly asserting that he did so on the condition that the leaker stops "harming our American partners"?
Putin has no interest in protecting America's interests and certainly not if they conflict with his own vision of Russian self-interest. Putin's only goal is to protect Russia's interests.
Would that Obama were to act the same way when it comes to U.S. interests. Instead of behaving as president of the United States, he seems at times to fashion himself, as he has said on more than one occasion, "a citizen of the world."
A weaker America makes for a more dangerous world. America appeared weak after the failed Vietnam War, which opened the door to Soviet expansion in Asia, Latin America and Africa and to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Iran. In the 1990s, America was thriving as an economic force but seemed oblivious to the threats being directed at us by Osama bin Laden.
In both cases, American weakness provided openings for our enemies. The Ayatollah Khomeini took hostages at the American embassy in Tehran and held them for more than a year, and al-Qaida attacked the World Trade Center in 1993 and again in 2001, killing some 3,000 Americans.
It is difficult to predict what harm will come from our perceived weakness now. It already has allowed countries to ignore their duty to turn over a criminal like Snowden, but things could get much worse. The very least the president could do was snub Putin. It may not be much of a response, but it is better than nothing.
But like President Jimmy Carter's boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Obama's actions won't be enough to restore American standing in the world.
He has damaged this great Nation that much
Obama Remaking America’s Image
Putin Remaking Obama’s Image
Obama - "Judge me by the people with whom I surround myself."
America is finished as the leader of the free world and is totally disrespected by the communists world. America is on the road to be finished and will never be much but a third world Country for many years. King Obama is not finish destroying what is left And half of America supports this destruction.
obama, look at me, listen: you a f n ahole! (feels good)
50 years from now people will still be wondering how this stupid butt head ever got elected to the Presidency——twice.
It is thanks to that arrogant pos occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, and like I said in another post of this thread it will take decades fix the damage he has done provided it’s even possible
What Obama is not finished with yet - is the genocide that history teaches is coming when madmen like NerObama and his MarxoFascists are in power.
Control the food industry from seed to plate, water, transportation, finance communications and travel - and you can isolate and starve a people to submission or death... legally.
Obama has played chess and put all his pieces on the board while we thought the game was the usual tidily winks.
Oh yeah, Obama you already have remade our image. We’re the laughing stock of the world that bows before our enemies, shoots ourselves in the foot wnow ith idiotic commie economic policies that didn’t work then and won’t work and are apparently too stupid to realize why we cant balance our budgets when we’re letting illegals pour across the border for freebies and votes, giving away money to our enemies that hate us, and our president and his wife take more vacations in one term that past presidents eould have taken in 4 terms.
Oh yeah, Obama you already have remade our image. We’re the laughing stock of the world that bows before our enemies, shoots ourselves in the foot with idiotic commie economic policies that didn’t work then and won’t work now and are apparently too stupid to realize why we cant balance our budgets when we’re letting illegals pour across the border for freebies and votes, giving away money to our enemies that hate us, and our president and his wife take more vacations in one term that past presidents would have taken in 4 terms.
One correct decision in four and a half years does not a president make.
"Remaking America's image"?:
America is weak. We withdrew from Iraq and Afghanistan without a plan. 0bama wants to close GITMO. 0bama closes embassy's in response to threats. 0bama stands down in Benghazi. 0bama will not call a terrorist attack, a 'terrorist attack' (Ft. Hood).
We're weak and we surrender at the drop of a hat. THAT is 0bama's new image for America. 0bama took the presidency for the sole purpose of sabotaging and destroying it, domestically and internationally.
Meanwhile, China grows it's military might. Al Qaeda has us running. Russia out-maneuvers us with Snowden. The people of Egypt vomit Hillary's MB right back at us.
The whole reset concept itself was amateurish and counter productive, as well as totally divisive.
Hey World! We Leftist democrats took over America so everything will be different!
It was an admission of America at fault in a dangerous world.
No, it wasn't......
Obama: Putin ‘slouches’ like a ‘bored kid at the back of the classroom’
But it also illustrates problems of the president's own making.
When Obama was elected for his first term, some dignitary in Europe lamenting over his election, wrote that it isn’t Obama that’s the problem its the American people that voted him in. He basically said this was prime evidence that America that we once knew is no more.
And he was/is right. The people voting the comrade in twice confirms it. Hate to be so pessimistic, but looking ahead I doubt its going to get much better, these same clueless people are going to vote Hillary the beast in next go around.
On the right, what will we have to vote for? As long as the RNC gives us people like Romney and McCain, there isn’t much to encourage conservatives to vote. Rand Paul? He’s a libertarian, not a conservative.
I believe Zero canceled his meeting with Vla was because he didn’t want Vla to hand him his @zz again.
‘oohrah! :-)
I think it's EXACTLY like he imagined. A weaker, more socialistic/communistic country! Against the will of the people!
50 years from now people will still be wondering how this stupid butt head ever got elected to the Presidency——twice.
**************
There is ALWAYS a price to be paid for stupidity. America is going to be getting a whopper of an invoice soon for this mistake in terms of economic distress, social upheaval, and economic and military vulnerability. It’s just a matter of time before the bill comes due.
When things do get really bad and the national pain and fear level rises to the breaking point, the country will all of a sudden want a strong, principled leader to save them from the mess Obama created.
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