During his campaign run, Barack Obama disparaged past leaders for having created an atmosphere in which the rest of the world despised America. Obama had promised to, “renew the nation’s promises” because he believed that we had, “a unique opportunity to reboot America’s image around the world”. Our image has been reshaped, but not positively.
Obama now has a public image of someone that talks big but does not deliver. This is the fear that many expressed during the campaign. He is an effective cheerleader, but not so much a quarterback.
We have spent America’s political collateral talking to Iran, ignoring England, talking to Hammas and the Palestinians while brow-beating the Israelis, ignoring the success in Iraq and failing to support Afghanistan, talking to Russia while screwing Checkoslavakia and pushing Georgia away. We have not gained a single new ally or friend, but have managed to distance ourselves from the ones we used to have.
Is it any wonder that the International Olympic Committee dropped Chicago onto the trash-heap in the first round? Those who held America in contempt before Obama, still do. Those who used to consider us stalwart allies, can no-longer count on us. Anyone that might consider a partnership with us sees a weak leader that goes back on his commitments and has achieved exactly nothing.
In the end, the President has had almost a year since his inauguration. If he decides to blame world opinion, it’s actually the world’s opinion of him now. It won’t stop him from somehow blaming Bush, or the liberals calling it racism, but it should.
As an article on NBCWashington.com put it, “it wasn’t right-wingers at a town hall meeting, or even the loyal opposition in Congress who said “no thanks” so emphatically to Obama. It was the world.”
