Trying Too Hard To Be "Too Cool"
Nearly 100 days into Barack Obama's presidency and he is still a rock star in Europe, as evidenced by the large crowds that turned out to cheer him at the recent G-20 summit in London and NATO summit in Strasbourg, France.
George W. Bush was heartily disliked in Europe west of Warsaw, and Mr. Obama is universally loved. But how well does that popularity translate into power? How far could President Obama push his agenda with, say, German Chancellor Angela Merkel or French President Nicolas Sarkozy? About as far as you can throw a piano.
One of President Obama's campaign promises was that he was going to restore our "standing" in the international community. He is finding out that just being the "popular kid" does not automatically equate having a good standing with cool kids.
At the G-20 summit in London, Frau Merkel politely said nein to Mr. Obama's entreaties about adding billions to the German economic stimulus pot. (Actually, it was a sheer pleasure to watch the Europeans, who have never seen a government expenditure they didn't like, celebrate fiscal discipline in the face of U.S. profligacy).
Afghanistan? Mr. Obama asked his European allies to contribute more troops and put them where the fighting is -- mainly in the embattled south. This is where the Anglo powers bear the brunt of warfare while the French, Germans and Italians remain happily ensconced in the quieter north. Though Mr. Obama says he received "strong and unanimous support" on Afghanistan from his NATO partners in Strasbourg, he got no additional troop commitments. The Europeans are happy to see the U.S. president add another 19,000 American troops to the 38,000 already there. Why worry, if Mr. Big is willing to carry the load?
Actually, you know it is bad when the President of FRANCE calls you "weak".
The US President is weak, the Spanish leader is dim, the German Chancellor is clinging on to France’s coat-tails and the head of the European Commission is irrelevant.
That, at any rate, is the world according to President Sarkozy, who has spent the week airing his unvarnished opinions of Barack Obama and an array of international politicians — abruptly ending France’s honeymoon with the US and needling Washington on several strategic issues.
Actually it has been quite depressing to read the European's take on the G-20 Summit - especially as it relates to President Obama. For no matter how hard he tried, the President made no further inroads, respect wise, with the Europeans than President Bush did.
It sort of reminds me of the liberal left's incessant tittering about "tea bagging" this past week (in lead up to the Tea Parties on tax day). They were trying so hard to appear cool - all the while looking like the wanna be's that they really are!
Labels: Enlightened Europe, President Obama
posted by The Lady Logician at
8:12 PM
2 Comments:
Actually, we were simply taking advantage of the ridiculousness of the "tea bagging", promoted as a "grassroots" organizing (yet funded and created months ago by a corporate lobbyist front group), and the inconsistent message of these "populist outrage" events protesting "taxes, or spending, or something... we're not sure we're really just mad we lost the election(s)." It was a joke, and the name didn't help it any. In fact, even typing this I find myself laughing again.
And to the rest of your post, I think the flaw in your thinking is revealed in the final paragraphs. To conservatives, the only important aspect of our image and foreign policy around the world is that we appear, at all costs, and without rational justification in many situations, as the "toughest kid on the block."
Once you step off the playground and into the real world of intricate international relations and the fact that we are all intertwined economically and politically, being the "tough guy" is really one tiny portion of maintaining relevant influence with other nations, and keep the biggest seat at the table.
I'd suggest you take a look at international polling before you attempt to write anything like this in the future. And remember, Europeans, etc are influencing their leaders as much as we are. When you wrap up with the conclusion that Obama is making no better impression with foreign leaders and nations than Bush was, you are not imparting a factual insight into the situation, just giving us something else to laugh about.
I long for the day conservatives can make actual arguments against Obama using facts and reality instead of reaching desperately (and also far too early) for any straw they can grasp. He won't be perfect, and we need to keep all elected officials in check. But I worry that conservatives are going to lack any shred of credibility by the time there is a real argument for improvement by wasting so much time with contrived claptrap like you've taken the time to pen here.
Two party systems work best when both parties are relevant. Ask yourself if what you've written here influences that positively, or was it just a cheap shot without much to really back it up.
Then consider the long term future of your party, not fretting over the "incessant tittering" over a handful of laughable rallies which amount to no more than the ill informed many lobbying against themselves for some vague notion of anger against a "D" because it's not an "R" and little else.
By
Jason The, at 4:05 PM
Jason honey....name the "corporate lobbyist front group" that funded this! I can tell you that every group that hitched their wagons to this, did so WEEKS after the planning for these protests had gotten under way. Shoot the RC didn't even come to the party until the Monday before tax day. Just because your side is heavily funded by Moveon.org does not mean the other side is.
If you actually LISTENED to the people who were behind and attending the protests you would know that the protests were NOT about President Obama - they were about BOTH SIDES spending money that we don't have. It started under President Bush and when YOUR GUY (who campaigned specifically AGAINST deficit spending) started deficit spending that was worse than Bush, you had to know (if you had ANY intellectual honesty at all) that the backlash was going to be quick and loud!
This post is no more of a "cheap shot" than any of the left's tea bagging comments.
LL
By
The Lady Logician, at 7:54 PM
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