How can Obama get any credibility worldwide if he fails to acknowledge the actions of the Bush administration for the past 8 years? How would you suggest he handles that? Should he announce how wildly successful Bush's policies have been internationally and that he is just plain embarrassed to follow in his big footsteps?
You are intentionally taking that statement out of context. It was not an apology. It was a balanced commentary, acknowledging that the U.S. can be arrogant but also scolding the Europeans for their insidious dislike of the U.S.. He finished by saying that both sides need to change. It was a very presidential commentary. I'm glad he said it. This emphasizes the problem with conservatives and liberals alike. They hear what they want to hear. They twist words and take comments out of context to promote their counter ideologies. I have serious reservations about this president, but I want to be fair in how I judge his actions on a day to day basis. In the end I'll add up the two columns to see how I feel. Yesterday, he represented the U.S. well.
You're assuming that Bush was wrong. While I was no fan of Bush's spendaholic, histrionic, reactionary economic bailout plans in the past year... I believe history will be the judge of his foreign policy. The Europeans cursed Ronald Reagan for a decade, but the bottom line is... without the efforts of his Administration, half of Europe would still be paying $400 for Levi's on the black market and dying for the days they may freely roam the European continent. Some 'alleged liberals' made careers bitching about Reagan, and then made come backs thanks to Bush. There may well be a time, with the benefit of hindsight, that people will laugh at those who ripped W's 'war on terror' while laying in bed with the likes of George Soros..
Here's how I see it. The world relies on us for most everything.... money, food, protection, relief, technology etc. etc. We are always the first nation to answer the call. So now the benefactors think we are arrogant? See what they would think if we were like, say, China and Russia.
I could be wrong but I do not think that the world as a whole or Americans specifically ever came close to favorably comparing RR's international policies and 8 year body of work with those of W's.
You're wrong Dave. The only thing that was lacking was a few billionaires organizing 'resistance movements' that they planned on profiting from later. What we've seen now is also a selective criticism of the Reagan doctrines. They want to talk about Central America without looking at it within the context of the big picture. I am sincere about this Dave. I believe you to be a passionate, reasonable and intelligent man who has not stopped long enough to see exactly who these people are that you've aligned yourself with on the issues. FFS, these are the people praising the Democracy of Huge Chavez...The countries that led the protest against US presence in Iraq are the very same countries who were breaking their own UN regulations to profit from the economic fishbowl being imposed on Iraq. The rest are just sheeple.