Newt gives Obama an F on the Grand Tour
posted at 2:14 pm on April 8, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
The Barack Obama administration wants to paint the tour of Europe as a rousing public-relations success, but as Newt Gingrich points out, that’s not the reason Presidents travel. Greta van Susteren refers to the trip as Obama’s “semester abroad,” getting a chuckle from Newt, but Gingrich says this could have value as a learning experience. Greg Hengler has the video at Townhall:
Newt’s not alone in this analysis. Jackson Diehl wrote much the same thing for the Washington Post in the middle of the trip. Diehl objected to Obama’s abandonment of the American agenda from the start, and wondered when Obama was going to act on behalf of the US rather than simply acquiesce to everyone else.
Gingrich makes a good point here. Two previous presidents had similarly rocky starts. John Kennedy realized how badly he’d bungled and improved later. Jimmy Carter remained convinced of his own brilliance and continued to bungle foreign policy; in fact, Carter has never changed an iota in almost 30 years since Ronald Reagan replaced him. These experiences can be object lessons for a president, assuming they don’t believe their own press and acknowledge their failings.
Which one describes Obama? I know he’d prefer to think of himself as a new JFK, but somehow, I don’t see him acknowledging failures. I’m betting Carter, especially since they have remarkably similar outlooks on foreign policy. JFK would never have appeared in France — a country thousands of Americans died to liberate — to apologize for American arrogance.
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Go write another book Newt. I am so sick of him.
Do something and get off these damn talk shows and quit making money of off interviews. If he’s so damn smart why isnt back in the ring? He gets his free vacations making speeches in Hawaii and everything else and any time I hear him on Hannity’s radio show he sounds drunk.
johnnyU on April 8, 2009 at 9:05 PM
This one
Entelechy on April 8, 2009 at 9:51 PM
He it terribly naive and doesn’t know much about history, or anything else.
Ciphers are indignant and we’ll pay a huge prize for it. But, we deserve him.
Entelechy on April 8, 2009 at 9:52 PM
Has a sitting US President ever actually hated his own nation?
Speakup on April 9, 2009 at 12:22 AM
It’s becoming more and more difficult not to answer that question in the affirmative.
Cylor on April 9, 2009 at 3:42 AM
The Europeans thought because Obama hated America he loved them
The first clue was the Winston Churchill bust, the DVD’s and the other sophmoric insults
Not much point having a slappy fight with an adolescent
They helped elect Obama. At least the money they sent over went into our economy not theirs
If they haven’t yet figured it out yet, Leaders of the EU: Obama is not enamored with you. You are not third world victims, you are the imperialist oppressors. Expect more DVD’s and toy helicopters
entagor on April 9, 2009 at 4:12 AM
This POTUS has an arrogance that out performs even Carters’. He is incapable of seeing his faults, he will never change his ideology, and he will remain a disaster for America for as long as America allows him to continue.
DannoJyd on April 9, 2009 at 10:15 AM
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