Obama: a flop on the international stage
posted at 4:10 pm on September 21, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
That surprising assessment does not come from the National Review or the Washington Examiner, both of whom would almost certainly agree, but from the New York Times. While Peter Baker attempts to put some gloss on Barack Obama’s ability to make the US more popular simply by not being George W. Bush, he has to admit that it has translated into few if any benefits for the US. Instead, the distinct impression left by other nations is that they’re relieved to have an American President willing to accept the role of doormat:
But eight months after his inauguration, all that good will so far has translated into limited tangible policy benefits for Mr. Obama. As much as they may prefer to deal with Mr. Obama instead of his predecessor, George W. Bush, foreign leaders have not gone out of their way to give him what he has sought.
European allies still refuse to send significantly more troops to Afghanistan. The Saudis blew off Mr. Obama’s request for concessions to Israel, while Israel rebuffed his demand to stop settlement expansion. North Korea defied him by testing a nuclear weapon. Japan just elected a party less friendly to the United States. Cuba has done little to liberalize in response to modest relaxation of sanctions. India and China are resisting a climate change deal. And Russia rejected new sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program even as Mr. Obama heads into talks with Tehran.
For an administration whose officials regularly boast of having what they call ‘the best brand in the world,’ there is growing “frustration with what other countries are prepared to contribute to advancing supposedly common interests,” said Stephen Sestanovich, a former Clinton administration ambassador with ties to the current team. Personal relations are important, he said, but national interests still dominate. “That’s what American presidents generally discover.”
The White House wants to push back against this image by claiming that its Russian diplomacy has won important concessions on nuclear-arms reductions. Important to whom? The Russians can hardly afford to properly maintain its arsenal now, and certainly can’t afford a new nuclear arms race. Vladimir Putin saw firsthand what happens when an American President bets our economy against Russia’s.
Furthermore, all of that Russian diplomacy has failed to lessen the threat of Russian expansionism in the Caucasus and eastern Europe. Has Russia withdrawn from Georgia’s disputed provinces? They have not, despite their promises to do so. Obama’s sudden reversal with Poland and the Czech Republic have done nothing to make our allies in eastern Europe feel secure in our alliance. Nor did Obama get a single concession from Moscow on Iran for all of the concessions the US has given to Putin and Dmitry Medvedev.
The new “smart power” looks a lot like the old appeasement, and the entire world – including the New York Times – has realized it.
Update: I forgot the link to the story; it’s now up.
Blowback
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Shut up, you people!
I’d like to hear what AnninCa or KrabKraws thinks.
Lanceman on September 21, 2009 at 4:50 PM
Who would have thunk?
nyx on September 21, 2009 at 4:51 PM
FIFY. Before the comentary clean-up this past weekend, I would have said JUG EARS, but I’ve reformed. Reminds me of a sign I saw in DC- “With ears like that, why can’t you hear us???”
indypat on September 21, 2009 at 4:52 PM
His beer summit with Prof Gates?
Sweet_Thang on September 21, 2009 at 4:52 PM
Don’t people remember how the succesful hope-and-changey policies of the Carter [retch] administration gave birth to the Reagan years?
All we’re missing is an embassy overthrow and lengthy hostage crisis – or similar. We already got the shitty economy and bad domestic policy thing covered.
The reason that doesn’t happen more often is becuase we had a couple of republican presidents who wouldn’t tolerate bullshit. Obama’s trying to change that and employ those Carter policies that endanger Americans in every conceivable way.
We forget….then we remember again. Next recollection is set for 2012.
wildweasel on September 21, 2009 at 4:53 PM
Sad time for this great Country, when we have such a weakling, at the helm.
shoregulls on September 21, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Racism in any form should not be a component on this or any forum. Come on guy, give that crap a rest.
FireBlogger on September 21, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Reagan said:
Obama doesn’t get that…President Bush understood it.
right2bright on September 21, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Drop it, knock it off…
right2bright on September 21, 2009 at 4:56 PM
We read this as the NYT humbly acknowledging things aren’t going as they had expected. A more realistic explanation is that this is the NYT scolding the rest of the world.
stldave on September 21, 2009 at 4:56 PM
Ok, guys. That officially is Too Much Information.
Shambhala on September 21, 2009 at 4:56 PM
I think the internationals the New York Times caters to were expecting the butt kissing and kowtowing but with the desire and skillfulness to put foot to arse in the proper situation. Like Clinton did in Kosavo, but what Obama can’t do with Afghanistan or Iran or Honduras ad nauseum…
liquidflorian on September 21, 2009 at 4:57 PM
What THEY said.
Chainsaw56 on September 21, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Being respected and feared…gives you results, and keeps you safe.
right2bright on September 21, 2009 at 5:00 PM
President Pantywaist is crusin’ for a brusin’. Course we will be writing the checks, in blood and money for his folly, but it ain’t going to work how he thinks it will.
He ain’t sophisticated enough to understand that marxists don’t always stick together and cover for each other.
Harry Schell on September 21, 2009 at 5:01 PM
Thrill is Gone
gh on September 21, 2009 at 5:01 PM
So I’ve heard. During O’s European trip he was partying with Med. In fact they acted like frat buddies as far as I could tell. I think Putin is so far out of both men’s leagues in the Machiavelli department, that P will have O dancing to his tune and O will not even suspect(until it’s too late, or perhaps never?)
jeanie on September 21, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Flip Flop he was talkin all shop
Sellin’ his Obamacare hype
He didn’t know we weren’t buyin’ his show
But soon they will all realize
The folks are mad and it’s gonna be bad
Cause we’re not the giving up type!!!!!!
(sung to the tune of “splish splash he was takin’ a bath”
huskerdiva on September 21, 2009 at 5:05 PM
Get real!
It’s a play on Maureen Dowd, nothing more. Perhaps you’ve got your own racist thoughts running through the back of your mind and feel the pangs of guilt. For me it’s just a cheap laugh at a silly old woman.
Ogabe on September 21, 2009 at 5:06 PM
I love the captions on the front page. They make me chuckle. :)
rollthedice on September 21, 2009 at 5:07 PM
Seems to happen every time a Democrat is president…hm, that’s odd.
Dr. ZhivBlago on September 21, 2009 at 5:08 PM
Call me reactionary but I don’t think you should give the job to anyone who doesn’t already know this. Unsurpringly, the Times thinks it to be brilliant insight. More unsurprinsingly, the current administration still doesn’t seem to grasp the concept.
landshark on September 21, 2009 at 5:09 PM
Color me blond. posted that on the wrong thread:-(
huskerdiva on September 21, 2009 at 5:09 PM
One of many great times in the U.S. was when France refused to allow us to use their air space…we flew our fighters from So. Calif. to Libya and bombed Gaddafi’s compound, I think killing a nephew…Gaddafi sat down and shut up, and France was upset, but we were safe, and many other leaders who would have been normally irate, sat down and shut up.
That is what a strong leader does…he doesn’t go around making friends, that is not his job, he goes around providing a chance for people to come to our side, to live peacefully, and not to attack us.
You have a choice, be a friend, be an enemy, be neutral…we live with all three, but out of all those there are just a couple of rules; leave us alone, leave peaceful nations alone.
But the rules are changing…
right2bright on September 21, 2009 at 5:09 PM
It is indeed a loss for America. What makes you think we can make it till this guy is out the door?
applebutter on September 21, 2009 at 5:09 PM
Rather then being “coy” and pretending you didn’t use the word “boy”, just say “okay”…but instead you go ahead and prove you are a nitwit by accusing others of what you have done.
He and I didn’t use the word, you did….own it, man up and own it, you little whiner.
We have had a few trolls on here trying to get us to say or post racist remarks so they can go around saying HotAir is racist…we aren’t falling for that stuff…so once again.
Knock it off…
right2bright on September 21, 2009 at 5:12 PM
Of course they prefer to deal with Obama. It’s like playing poker with someone who has never played before.
exhelodrvr on September 21, 2009 at 5:18 PM
What puzzles me is that the Times actually called him on it though. What gain do they get from it? The
nationalizationer, “bailout” of the newspapers hasn’t been finalized yet, and the stock price actually went up late last week just on the rumor that it’d happen. In any case, the Times has a long history of supporting the idea of the Eagle prostrated at the feet of the Bear (going back to Walter Duranty, if not earlier).So why the sudden change of heart?
Blacksmith on September 21, 2009 at 5:22 PM
Welcome to the show NY Times.
Conservatives yelled all through the campaign and into Mr. 57 states Presidency that appeasement and capitulation will do nothing on the world stage but show Obama to be naive and weak.
On….and….on….and….on we heard about “smart power” and not making the same mistakes as the “previous administration”.
As usual liberals domestic and international policy initiatives sound great in the classroom and coffee shops but are absolute failures in the real world.
Well now Obama has the biggest international test he will face with our Generals yelling for a substantial amount of troops for a chance for victory in Afghanistan and Obama’s democratic and liberal base yelling for surrender.
Let’s remember what our Hustler and Chief said about Afghanistan/Pakistan back when he needed votes:
Karzai: Obama Promises To Fight Terror
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/23/terror/main4628082.shtml
(AP) U.S. President-elect Barack Obama pledged in a telephone conversation with Afghan President Hamid Karzai that fighting terrorism in Afghanistan and the region would be a top priority during his administration, Karzai’s office said Sunday.
Oh yea,Promises…promises…promises.
Of course on the campaign trail Obama stated plainly that America would not be safe until the Afghanistan/Pakistan region was free from supporting terrorism:
The Obama Doctrine
By Greyhawk
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/032531.html
Now that Obama’s got the votes, he is not sure all of a sudden what we can accomplish in Afghanistan and if it is worth it.
Obama Administration Searching for an Exit Strategy in Afghanistan
BY Herschel Smith
5 days, 13 hours ago
http://www.captainsjournal.com/2009/07/15/obama-administration-searching-for-an-exit-strategy-in-afghanistan/
So in 8 months Obama goes from “a serious top commitment” to win in Afghanistan/Pakistan because we will not be safe until we crush the jihadist to “Exit statagy after the elections”.
Have the Afghans beamed a major army in from some far off planet that we don’t know about?
Have the training camps been shut down already?
Has a workable government been established between Kabul and the tribes that we don’t know about?
Has anyone heard or seen al-qaeda and the Taliban declare they are defeated? Has any military personal declared the Taliban and al-qaeda defeated and we did not hear about it?
Just what has happened that turned Afghanistan around from the supposed “failures” of the previous administration to a roaring success that we can leave and only concentrate on training?
The truth is NOTHINGS CHANGED.
Afghanistan is still in the same shape it has been for years except that we have seen the situation become worse over the last year.
Mr. Hope and Change and his “smart power” has accomplished nothing there.
NOTHING….
NADA….
ZERO….
But Obama and the democrats are reeving up the talking points with their friends in the media to blame it all on Bush while they cut and run.
This will not work domestically or internationally.
Obama has a better chance blaming the jihadist for being racist because they won’t do what he wants them to do than blame this failure on Bush while he tries to “surrender with style”.
If Obama does not commit to winning like he said he would during the campaign, this will sink his Presidency straight to the ground making him worse than Carter ever was.
My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honor. I believe it is “peace for our time.” Go home and get a nice quiet sleep
The following statement was made by British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, in front of #10 Downing Street, London, after his arrival home from the notorious Munich Conference of 1938
Less than a year after the agreement, following continued aggression from Germany and its invasion of Poland, Europe was plunged into World War II.
Baxter Greene on September 21, 2009 at 5:26 PM
How dare you only report one side of the story because President Obama has been on overwhelming success on the “international stage”
Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela are just a few of the countries who think President Obama is doing great now. :-)
JeffinSac on September 21, 2009 at 5:28 PM
Personally, I admit, mea culpa on this one. I thought the rounds of shows were strictly over Obamacare.
The fact that other issues were on the table led to a real question: Why not Fox.
Whatever. Obama is nothing but a suit to me. He’s in the pocket of insider Democrats, and they honestly have no real notion.
They just wanted in pocket Dem president. Now that they have one, they have no idea what to do with him.
AnninCA on September 21, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Apparently some Chinese businessman thinks the same way.
Introducing Oba Mao!
blamegame on September 21, 2009 at 5:32 PM
I think somebody at NYT can read the writing on the wall.
Nobody wants to go down on a sinking ship. I think this is the Time’s way of suggesting to the captain that we’ve just hit an iceberg, and the boats are on fire.
applebutter on September 21, 2009 at 5:36 PM
You’ve got a point, but let’s have the Leftists like Maureen Dowd be the Racists.
It seems to be their obsession right now, so let them keep on digging themselves into a hole with the shovel of racism.
We Conservatives need to take the high road.
Chainsaw56 on September 21, 2009 at 5:36 PM
The international community is just glad that the President of the United States cares more about
opinion, than he does the opinion of the American people.
Doormat is right.
Terrye on September 21, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Classic…if the conservatives weren’t gaining so much ground, you would see these all around Hollywood and college campuses…
right2bright on September 21, 2009 at 5:44 PM
Let’s not get carried away…we just stay away from the racist stuff, since it is almost always a liberal who brings it up first.
right2bright on September 21, 2009 at 5:46 PM
Sad. We haven’t had a real grownup in the White House since 1992. It will be 20 years by the time we get rid of Obama. That is what we get for all these “it’s the economy, stupid” campaigns we run in the U.S.
rockmom on September 21, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Agreed.
Maybe it should be: “Let the Leftists take the Low road”.
That’s their expertise anyways.
Chainsaw56 on September 21, 2009 at 5:53 PM
Hey NY Times.
You spent a lot of time and print bashing this woman as some out of touch idiot from Alaska.
It is refreshing to see the NY Times and the rest of the “Elites” that whined incessantly about how dam# smart they are finally come around to the same conclusions about Obama
that Sarah Palin pinned on him BEFORE he was elected:
You Can’t Say You Weren’t Warned
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7597238.stm
Hey, remember this one?
Tell us NY Times,
watching this train wreck of a Presidency unfold, do you think you can see “Epic Failure” from your houses “smart ones”.
Baxter Greene on September 21, 2009 at 5:56 PM
It’s only a half-a$$ed article Ed. NAME ONE TANGIBLE POLICY BENEFIT WE’VE RECEIVED FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY IN THE LAST 8 MONTHS.
GarandFan on September 21, 2009 at 6:01 PM
Putin said Obama was a brave man…he has that going for him…
right2bright on September 21, 2009 at 6:11 PM
Where did I deny I used the word ‘boy’?
I used it as a play on the stupidity of Maureen Dowd. You’re the one who played the racist card so I threw it back in your face. If you can’t take it don’t play that game sunshine.
And this little tattle-tale cum whiner role of your’s – not very fitting for a supposed conservative. Are you sure you’re with us or do you just play that part here?
Ogabe on September 21, 2009 at 6:11 PM
Mebbe we should call you selfrighteous2bright. Ogabe wasn’t being racist at all. He was making fun of Maureen Dowd. Don’t you follow the news?
John the Libertarian on September 21, 2009 at 6:49 PM
I was so embarrassed for my country to see that photo and further humiliated to actually see the “0” bow to that … throwback…
jerrytbg on September 21, 2009 at 6:55 PM
Me too. Can it or take it somewhere else.
ProfessorMiao on September 21, 2009 at 6:58 PM
Apparently he and a few others are content with letting libs dictate what is and isn’t racist. Basically, they have surrendered the right to control the debate to the libs, and as a result, we’re where we are today. It’s pretty sad, really.
xblade on September 21, 2009 at 8:29 PM
+1
Sir Napsalot on September 21, 2009 at 8:35 PM
The worst part is, this is likely the best part of Obama’s presidency when it comes to foreign policy. Everyone is taking measure of him, and now they have it. No prize for guessing what now follows.
jarodea on September 21, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Ogabe wasn’t being racist at all. He was making fun of Maureen Dowd. Don’t you follow the news?
John the Libertarian
I’m guessing that Ed saw the point of it or he most likely (and rightly) would have brought down the ban hammer. Remember, that is the only real power here. All else is empty chastisement from fellow anonymous souls.
SKYFOX on September 22, 2009 at 11:27 AM
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