Over the past few days, we've seen President Obama back on the world stage. First he addressed the United Nations General Assembly and later he hosted the G20.
He spoke calmly and confidently of the need for international cooperation in order to defeat terrorism, fight global warming, fight HIV/AIDS, handle Ahmadinejad, and address other challenges and crises in the world. No threats, no finger pointing, no "you're with us or you're with the terrorists."
And Obama's approach was fruitful. For example, at the U.N., he won passage of a nuclear nonproliferation resolution.
Surely George W. Bush could not have inspired that kind of cooperation with his Cowboy-style bullying and tough talking.
But then, Bush would never have agreed to such a deal, which he surely would have seen as threatening his own power to do whatever he chose, no matter how dangerous.
While Obama has not turned out to be the more ideal leader I thought I voted for, he deserves much credit the things he is doing right. And putting America back in sync with the rest of the world is one big feather in his cap.
No comments:
Post a Comment