Obama plays to the anti-American crowd
At the U.N., the president told anti-Americans what they like to hear. The danger is that he believes not only in his inflated view of himself, but in his words, too.
David Frum
Increasingly, Barack Obama's speaking style inspires a reaction borrowed from the narrator of the Raymond Chandler novel The Long Goodbye: "You talk too damn much, and too damn much of it is about you." Of the first seven sentences Obama delivered to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, the presidential "I" was the subject or direct object of five.
Like a State of the Union address, a presidential speech to the U.N. General Assembly is difficult to do well. Too many interests clamor and compete for their share of a finite amount of time. The main themes are in danger of disappearing as aides and agencies press for a mention of global financial architecture or climate change—and don't forget our friends in Latin America!
Even granting the difficulties, however, President Obama's UNGA address was alarming.
The continued flow of criticisms of the previous administration and Obama's apologies for the actions of the United States are becoming more than unseemly. The president observed, "I came to office at a time when many around the world had come to view America with skepticism and distrust." He allowed that "part" of this feeling about the U.S. was due to "misperceptions and misinformation." But apparently another part was a justified—or at least justifiable—response to American actions, or so he invited his audience to infer.
True, the president declared, "I will never apologize for defending the interests of the United States." But he then proceeded to say: "In Iraq, we are responsibly ending a war. We have removed American combat brigades from Iraqi cities, and set a deadline of next August to remove all our combat brigades from Iraqi territory." Those words suggest that U.S. troops were the cause of prolonging the internecine conflict in Iraq—rather than the solution.
The president seems to hold a fixed view that he can mitigate anti-American feeling by conceding the truth of what the anti-Americans say.
Less obnoxious, but more threatening to his administration's hopes for foreign policy success, is the commitment he has once again issued to deeply re-engage himself personally in the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Compare these adjoining sentences:
"And in countries ravaged by violence—from Haiti to Congo to East Timor—we will work with the U.N. and other partners to support an enduring peace. I will also continue to seek a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine, and the Arab world." Haiti, Congo, and East Timor are to be concerns for his administration and the world generally, but Israel is to be a responsibility for the president personally: that inescapable presidential "I." A president has the same number of hours in a day as any other man, and a promise to do something himself is necessarily a warning that other things will be left undone.
Afghanistan—where an American-led coalition is fighting a shooting war—received only two mentions in the speech, but Palestinians and their concerns rated 13. Now, this astounding discrepancy in attention may reveal nothing more than an artful and insincere presidential nod toward other people's pieties, in this case those of Europeans and the Arab states. But there's a worrisome possibility that the president actually means what he says—and that he is about to pour hundreds of hours of his time into the job of cajoling the Palestinians to accept the deal they violently rejected eight years ago.
Maybe Obama has some private reason to expect greater success this time. More likely, though, he is just doubling down on Clinton's bad bet, thinking that Clinton failed because he waited until the end of his presidency, while he will succeed by starting near the beginning. Obama seems inspired above all by his grand, unlimited, vaulting self-confidence.
This president is an impressive man. But it's not reassuring that he seems even more impressed with himself than others are with him. At least with previous presidents, hubris followed some prior, ego-inflating triumph. Obama seems to be exhibiting all the symptoms with none of the initial success that normally induces the disease.
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54 Comments
Posted by Steve, Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 10:34 pm So, tell us Dave, how does it feel to be a laky for AIPAC? You're doing nothing to help Israel out. The status quo will bring nothing more then bloodshed. But, however no more American blood shed, we will never again get dragged in any more mideast conflicts. NEVER!
Posted by Nancy, Thursday, September 24, 2009, 2:10 pm Seems I'd not be reading this drivel when there are so many more important things going on at G20 were it a republican in office. Pls, let's stick to what's important here. There's an entire world of economics to be discussed. Sorry the republicans lost every single bit of power they had because of their horrid policies of the last 30 yrs, but that's how it goes when one party misuses the power given to them. Am sure the dime will turn in your favor again soon, though.
Posted by Rich, Thursday, September 24, 2009, 2:11 pm 'In Iraq, we are responsibly ending a war. We have removed American combat brigades from Iraqi cities, and set a deadline of next August to remove all our combat brigades from Iraqi territory.' Those words suggest that U.S. troops were the cause of prolonging the internecine conflict in Iraqrather than the solution.Your sentence suggests you need a refresher on the basics of an example and a supporting detail. Like some of the freshman in my high school English class.
Posted by Ron Odde, Thursday, September 24, 2009, 7:16 pm Again, another attempt to pass editorialism off as news. Appearntly, David Frum beleives not only in his inflated view of himself, but in his words too. Sorry david, but we finally have a president with the moral backbone to speak the truth. We screwed up. It takes a man and a government with real integrity to admit it. We cannot continue to act like the previous administration and hope noone is paying attention to the fact that the emperor is naked.
Posted by Jaibones, Thursday, September 24, 2009, 10:11 pm Like some of the freshman in my high school English class Rich, the illiterate English teacher.Wouldn't that be freshmen, Rich?
Posted by IndieDogg, Thursday, September 24, 2009, 10:14 pm Ron Odde Your mirror is on backwards. Your messiah has spoken barely a word that didn't contain a hedge or a shade or a downright flip of the truth since he took the oath of office. His overblown opinion of himself is, in part, due to the fawning worship of his disciples such as you display and the mantle of infallibility placed upon his shoulders by you and others, without any basis other than wishful thinking. Enjoy the day dream. We will all wake up soon enough.
Posted by Alan Davidson, Thursday, September 24, 2009, 10:18 pm President Obama said during his UN speech: For those who question the character and cause of my nation, I ask you to look at the concrete actions we have taken in just nine months. .........So the goodness of America is found solely in the Obama administration. Not in any other example of our greatness and uniqueness. You get it? It's all about him. It is classic narcissism and it is right in your face and lefty fools can wax on all they want about how extraordinary he is, but he is more and more being exposed as a partisan hack politician
Posted by Laura, Thursday, September 24, 2009, 10:21 pm What impresses you? He is in way over his depth, has not yet grasped that campaigning and leading are not the same thing, has no notion of fiscal responsibility and doesn't understand basic economics profit is the bottom line not taken off the top, has an adolescent view of the world and is so narcissistic that he thinks he can remake it in his own image. He cannot get his agenda enacted even though his party holds power in all 3 houses. Impressive? I don't think so.
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