Perhaps, just perhaps, the problem isn't what our presidents have failed to do, but what we expect them to do in an increasingly multipolar, or even nonpolar world?
Danielle Pletka laments the end of American civilization as we know it:
Consider that the presidentâ??s own staff canâ??t gin up a single special relationship with a foreign leader and that the once â??special relationshipâ? with the United Kingdom is in tatters (note the latest contretemps over Secretary of State Hillary Clintonâ??s bizarre intervention on the Falkland Islands); that neither China nor Russia will back the United Statesâ??s push for sanctions against Iran; that Iran, it seems, doesnâ??t want to â??sit downâ? with the Obama administration and chat; that the â??peace processâ? the president was determined to revive is limping pathetically, in no small amount due to missteps by the United States; that one of the key new relationships of the 21st century (advanced by the hated George W. Bush)â??with Indiaâ??is a total mess; that the hope kindled in the Arab world after Obamaâ??s famous Cairo speech has dimmed; that hostility to Americaâ??s AfPak special envoy Richard Holbrooke is the only point of agreement between Delhi, Islamabad, and Kabul; that there isnâ??t a foreign ministry in Europe with a good word to say about working with the Obama White House; that there is a narrative afoot that began with the Obama apologia tour last year and will not go away: America is in decline.Too many of these problems can be sourced back to the arrogance of the president and his top advisers. Many of Obamaâ??s foreign policy soldiers are serious, keen, and experienced, but even they are afraid to speak to foreigners, to meet with Congress, or to trespass on the policy making politburo in the White Houseâ??s West Wing. Our allies are afraid of American retreat and our enemies are encouraged by that fear. George Bush was excoriated for suggesting that the nations of the world are either with us or against us. But there is something worse than that Manichean simplicity. Barack Obama doesnâ??t care whether theyâ??re with us or against us.
And that's in just one year! Imagine how much he'll have ruined by 2012!
Needless to say, I find all of this to be a bit exaggerated, and even a bit disingenuous. Keep in mind that many once thought it cute or tough to alienate and insult allies; designating them as 'old' and 'new' Europe, for instance. When the Bush administration ruffled feathers it was decisive leadership; when Obama does it it's the collapse of Western society as we know it. Pick your hyperbole, I suppose.
After eight years in office, did President Bush actually leave us with a clear policy on ever-emerging China? How about the so-called road map for peace? How'd that work out? Did President Bush manage to halt Iranian nuclear enrichment, or did he simply leave Iran in a stronger geopolitical position vis-à-vis Iraq and Afghanistan?
Pletka attributes many of these perceived failings to "arrogance." But it has been well documented that the previous administration was also stubborn, resistant to consultation and set in its ways. How then, if Ms. Pletka is indeed correct, has this changed with administrations?
Pletka scoffs at the president's insistence that policy is "really hard," but he's right - as was George W. Bush when he said it. Perhaps, just perhaps, the problem isn't what our presidents have failed to do, but what we expect them to do in an increasingly multipolar, or even nonpolar world?
(AP Photo)
