We were told that the world would love us once "cowboy Bush" flew back to Texas.
We were told that "cooperation" would rise to the surface as nations felt more at ease with the new Obama sensitivity.
Let's take a look.
Where are we?
Let's start with Mexico where our new president has signed into law a provision that violates NAFTA.
How is Pres Obama going to show his new found respect for our Mexican friends?
He will violate NAFTA and permit Nancy Pelosi to escalate the trade war with Mexico. He also couldn't commit to anything tangible during his much publicized but very unsubstantial visit with Pres Calderon!
Let's go to Canada. They are a bit uncertain north of the border about those "Buy America" provisions in the stimulus and budgets approved by the Democrats.
Let's go to Europe where "adulation" got us "zero" troops in Afghanistan.
Let's to to the UN where "the new approach" has not gotten a tough resolution against North Korea or Iran.
What's going on? The world loves us but it's the same old world when it comes to doing hard things.
Let's not forget the just completed Americas Summit.
What happened?
So let's recommend Prof VD Hanson's latest post entitled Obamatopia--Does our president truly grasp why certain nations hate us — or does he really believe it's all Bush's fault?:
"Does he really believe that in the pre-Bush era we all got along (cf. his al Arabiya interview); then Bush’s strutting, unilateralism, and preemption, presto, caused anti-Americanism?"
Frankly, I don't know how much of Pres Obama is real or just "munchies" that he is throwing to the left that got him nominated.
Let's hope that Pres BO grows in the job and understands that Ortega and Chavez hated the US when Clinton was in the White House.
Let's hope so. Otherwise, I think that our enemies will be testing him in ways that we can't comprehend today.
I love this from Bill Katz:
"On the other hand, it's important that the White House ponders why these Latin American leaders, some of them world-class thugs, feel they can be so openly anti-American in Mr. Obama's presence, something they couldn't be in the presence of previous presidents.
That's right!
Can you picture John McCain or GW Bush sitting there for Ortega's 50-minute "Rev Wright-like anti-US rant"?
