Obama’s first major international sojourn a huge success
Despite criticism from Conservatives and the Republican Right, President Obama’s first major trip abroad last week was a huge success. Obama stood tall
and was well received by his fellow members of the G-20 at their annual meeting hosted by the French. He brought a new and fresh sense that America was
willing to listen instead of dictating for a change. He played a major leadership role in getting the members of the G-20 to agree to set principles to guide his
new direction for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, getting millions pledged to assist with economic reconstruction in those countries. He also got them pledge
billions more for the International Monetary Fund to help stabilize developing countries suffering from the worldwide financial crisis.
In discussing Obama’s first major trip abroad, David Gregory, the new host of “Meet the Press,” continues to see the balance sheet as more negative than
positive. Gregory quoted Charles Krautheimer of the New Republic, who noted that the President’s trip was characterized as a mea culpa campaign where, to win
over the other side, he sighted everything that was perceived to be wrong about America by the Europeans and those in the Muslim world. Conservatives were
outraged claiming that the President “trashed” the reputation of the Bush administration claiming that it was responsible for America’s poor standing in the world
while receiving nothing in return other than the “chuckling of Mullahs beneath their beards.” The Obama administration was right to say that the previous
administration had an arrogant, do-it- alone approach to foreign policy matters. This was corroborated by Michelle Norris, reporter for National Public Radio, who
rightfully responded that it was necessary and prudent for the Obama administration to distinguish and separate itself from the policies and practices of the past.
Gregory played some footage of President Obama talking to the Turkish Parliament and made references to the “town hall” meetings with students in various
countries. He and others suggested that the President used his middle name “Hussein” and talked about the fact that he lived in the largest country where
Muslims were in the majority (Indonesia) to win favor with the masses admonishing that this is something that he would not have done during the Presidential
campaign. How petty. The fact that President Obama brought a fresh perspective and unique background to share that was well received internationally should
have been applauded instead of being viewed as an underhanded way to win favor.
The international media, politicians from Europe and the Middle East, to the Republicans’ dismay, all hailed this new approach as refreshing and positive.
The town-hall approach is nothing that the former administration would have ever considered; nor would it have been able to handle the spontaneity and the
political calculus involved in such an encounter.
It was also hard for the Right to be critical of the President’s economic policies during a week where the stock markets surged in the U.S. and around the
world. On Air Force One, the “Freedom Fries” that President Bush childishly invented to spite the French when he couldn’t get them to support the U.S. invasion
of Iraq, were transformed back to being “French Fries” by the Obama administration.
While the First Lady was popularly heralded by the international media who dubbed her “Might Michelle,” Newt Gingrich tried to dim the President’s luster
by coupling the recent piracy events along the coast of Somalia with the Presidents failure to get concessions and sanctions against N. Korea and Iran to stop
the advancement of their nuclear weapons program. Gingrich suggested that all of this represented a failure of the Obama administration to get concrete results
from this major foreign policy trip.
President Obama and the Democratic leadership made another shrewd decision when they decided to move towards a warm-up in the relations between
the U.S. and Cuba. They did so by having a high-powered delegation from the Congressional Black Caucus visit Cuba to begin negotiations with Fidel and Raul
Castro. This too was met with disfavor from the Right; particularly from the Cuban refugee community in Miami. Obama’s call for relaxing and/or eliminating
restrictions on travel to and from Cuba to the U.S. is a positive and major first step towards ending the decades-long and failed strategy of trying to isolate Cuba.
The Republicans continue to opine that Obama represents “all style without substance” in trying to explain why he is so popular. The critique of his international
outreach efforts to change the hearts and minds in terms of perceptions towards America and the notion that Obama is trying to take on too much when he has
talked about ridding the world of nuclear weapons is without foundation. President Obama has proven that he has the ability to walk, chew gum and scratch his
head at the same time. If a President is to be successful, he/she must bean effective multi-tasker. So far, Obama has managed to illustrate himself as the
proverbial doctor in the emergency room who understands that our nation is like a patient with multiple organ failure who requires more than one operation at a
time. Perhaps the best indication of his success is the fact that inspite of the criticisms from the Right, President Obama continues to enjoy high numbers for his
popularity in the national and now international polls.
and was well received by his fellow members of the G-20 at their annual meeting hosted by the French. He brought a new and fresh sense that America was
willing to listen instead of dictating for a change. He played a major leadership role in getting the members of the G-20 to agree to set principles to guide his
new direction for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, getting millions pledged to assist with economic reconstruction in those countries. He also got them pledge
billions more for the International Monetary Fund to help stabilize developing countries suffering from the worldwide financial crisis.
In discussing Obama’s first major trip abroad, David Gregory, the new host of “Meet the Press,” continues to see the balance sheet as more negative than
positive. Gregory quoted Charles Krautheimer of the New Republic, who noted that the President’s trip was characterized as a mea culpa campaign where, to win
over the other side, he sighted everything that was perceived to be wrong about America by the Europeans and those in the Muslim world. Conservatives were
outraged claiming that the President “trashed” the reputation of the Bush administration claiming that it was responsible for America’s poor standing in the world
while receiving nothing in return other than the “chuckling of Mullahs beneath their beards.” The Obama administration was right to say that the previous
administration had an arrogant, do-it- alone approach to foreign policy matters. This was corroborated by Michelle Norris, reporter for National Public Radio, who
rightfully responded that it was necessary and prudent for the Obama administration to distinguish and separate itself from the policies and practices of the past.
Gregory played some footage of President Obama talking to the Turkish Parliament and made references to the “town hall” meetings with students in various
countries. He and others suggested that the President used his middle name “Hussein” and talked about the fact that he lived in the largest country where
Muslims were in the majority (Indonesia) to win favor with the masses admonishing that this is something that he would not have done during the Presidential
campaign. How petty. The fact that President Obama brought a fresh perspective and unique background to share that was well received internationally should
have been applauded instead of being viewed as an underhanded way to win favor.
The international media, politicians from Europe and the Middle East, to the Republicans’ dismay, all hailed this new approach as refreshing and positive.
The town-hall approach is nothing that the former administration would have ever considered; nor would it have been able to handle the spontaneity and the
political calculus involved in such an encounter.
It was also hard for the Right to be critical of the President’s economic policies during a week where the stock markets surged in the U.S. and around the
world. On Air Force One, the “Freedom Fries” that President Bush childishly invented to spite the French when he couldn’t get them to support the U.S. invasion
of Iraq, were transformed back to being “French Fries” by the Obama administration.
While the First Lady was popularly heralded by the international media who dubbed her “Might Michelle,” Newt Gingrich tried to dim the President’s luster
by coupling the recent piracy events along the coast of Somalia with the Presidents failure to get concessions and sanctions against N. Korea and Iran to stop
the advancement of their nuclear weapons program. Gingrich suggested that all of this represented a failure of the Obama administration to get concrete results
from this major foreign policy trip.
President Obama and the Democratic leadership made another shrewd decision when they decided to move towards a warm-up in the relations between
the U.S. and Cuba. They did so by having a high-powered delegation from the Congressional Black Caucus visit Cuba to begin negotiations with Fidel and Raul
Castro. This too was met with disfavor from the Right; particularly from the Cuban refugee community in Miami. Obama’s call for relaxing and/or eliminating
restrictions on travel to and from Cuba to the U.S. is a positive and major first step towards ending the decades-long and failed strategy of trying to isolate Cuba.
The Republicans continue to opine that Obama represents “all style without substance” in trying to explain why he is so popular. The critique of his international
outreach efforts to change the hearts and minds in terms of perceptions towards America and the notion that Obama is trying to take on too much when he has
talked about ridding the world of nuclear weapons is without foundation. President Obama has proven that he has the ability to walk, chew gum and scratch his
head at the same time. If a President is to be successful, he/she must bean effective multi-tasker. So far, Obama has managed to illustrate himself as the
proverbial doctor in the emergency room who understands that our nation is like a patient with multiple organ failure who requires more than one operation at a
time. Perhaps the best indication of his success is the fact that inspite of the criticisms from the Right, President Obama continues to enjoy high numbers for his
popularity in the national and now international polls.