|
I wish all of us, myself included, would stop quarterbacking President Barack Obama and let him lead.
Hes the president. We elected him to do the job. We elected him to do this job.
One of the most striking characteristics of George W. Bushs tenure was that the United States shifted from being a leader among nations to being a bully of other nations. At least, thats how the rest of the world perceived us. And many here at home agreed.
When choosing which presidential candidate to support last November, many people selected Obama because they thought he would be most likely to burnish Americas tarnished image abroad. While perhaps it was not the most decisive or compelling factor, polling showed that it was an important one.
We imagined a future in which Americans abroad wouldnt feel the need to downplay or defend their nationality. We imagined a future in which an American flag inspires respect and goodwill. Fewer than 100 days into Obamas presidency, we are far closer to that day than we ever were during Bushs eight years.
During the campaign it was absolutely something we heard regularly, David Binder, who conducts focus groups for the Obama White House, told The Los Angeles Times. The imagery of the president being well received ... is something that makes Americans feel proud again that we have a leader who is well liked and respected throughout the world.
This is what we hired Obama to do. We wanted a diplomat; we elected a diplomat; we got a diplomat. Whats the problem? Well, it seems the armchair quarterbacks are starting to complain that two trips abroad mean the president is not minding the store back home.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but this latest complaint is mind-bogglingly stupid. It ignores the nature of our problems. Luckily, the American people dont agree with the armchair quarterbacks. A whopping 79 percent said people in other countries will have a more positive view of the United States because of Obama, according to a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll.
Obama is dealing with a worldwide economic collapse, the possibility of nuclear proliferation in a country led by an unstable tyrant, pirates off the coast of Somalia, climate change, drug-trafficking wars, immigration, genocide and wars on multiple fronts. Which one of those would you have him solve from the Oval Office?
These problems are global. One of the major issues facing us at home started here but did not end here. When our economy stalled, markets across the world confronted the same illiquidity of credit. When drug wars erupted in Mexico, it put the security of our borders and citizens at risk. Speaking of borders, CO2 emissions dont recognize them. Increasingly, there are no purely domestic problems.
An agoraphobic president cannot fix our problems. We needed a president who could be a statesman, a levelheaded diplomat and a worthy ambassador for our great country. Finally, we have such a president.
Obama is multitasking because he has to. The search for the one big issue that will dominate the 21st century is misguided. You have to embrace complexity or at least accept it, warns Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. That doesnt mean you dont have any priorities, but it does mean you have to think about strategy differently. Its much more about being ready to respond than setting a rigid agenda.
Obama is prioritizing and making good decisions about how to allocate his time. Let him juggle. Let him pick and choose. He is smarter and more informed than I am. I am not going to now or in the future second-guess why he picks one crisis over another at any particular moment.
His attention is needed both here and abroad. Hes not dodging, weaving or avoiding. Its all interwoven. Each time the president strengthens our ties with allies, wins respect and lessens hostilities, we move closer to the country we want. Not just in a theoretical and idealistic sense, but in real and practical terms.
When he strengthens ties with Turkey, we gain an ally with some credibility in the Muslim world. When he illustrates his support for a healthy, strong Mexico, we get a safer border. When he tours Europe, we remind our friends of the ties that once bonded us.
Obamas travels will help restore our allies faith in America, at home and abroad. I can think of nothing more important.
|
