Obama’s unmacho diplomacy

By KATHLEEN PARKER   Wednesday, April 8, 2009
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— A few decades on the planet confirm a certain consistency among males in their approach to love and war.

Suffice to say, there is usually much talk of sabers, missiles and such. “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” was how Teddy Roosevelt framed his foreign policy.

Thus, in evaluating Barack Obama’s first European tour as president, analysts have focused on whether he was quite manly enough. On their leadership blog, former Washington Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee and columnist Steve Pearlstein asked whether Obama should have “grabbed an opportunity … to demonstrate his toughness, showing his saber as well as his smile.”

Verily, spoken like men.

What they’re really asking is: Did Obama do justice to the fire hydrant?

Call me a mother of boys. Or call Freud, if you must. But would that life were really as complicated and confused as leaders insist it is. Unfortunately, most of world history seems to have pivoted on the balance or imbalance of hormones, with testosterone presenting the greatest challenge. (I note this as a fan.)

In what may prove to be an epochal development, Obama seems to have his under control. He doesn’t strut, swagger or flex. He doesn’t even notice the hydrant.

If George W. Bush was a cowboy, Obama is a group hug.

He says we should show leadership by listening. That we should work in partnership with others. That we should show humility. This is, of course, pure porn for women. But unfortunately, women don’t rule the world. Men still do. And we have to worry whether Obama will be viewed as weak and the United States, therefore, vulnerable.

And because the world is thus, we are also necessarily concerned whether Obama will respond aggressively enough when appropriate. This is because Americans still don’t really know Obama yet. At each turn since taking office, he reveals new aspects of himself.

We now know that he is without qualm when he finds it necessary to fire corporate chiefs. But will he be as bold when rogue nations strap on their Speedos and display their missilery, as North Korea just did?

If life were a playground, one would have to infer that Kim Jong Il needs some attention. What he really wants is respect, according to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who met Kim in 2000. What he got from Obama was what the Chihuahua gets when the Great Dane shows up. Obama played it cool, in other words. He condemned Pyongyang for threatening stability and reiterated his commitment to reduce nuclear weaponry in the world—but was noncommittal about possible consequences.

For many, he was too cool by half. A Rasmussen poll reported that 57 percent of Americans want military action against North Korea. (Another war so soon?) John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the president’s approach constituted “hand-wringing,” which is a polite way of saying Obama is “girly.”

But was Obama really too cool? Or are we not listening?

Yes, Obama did say that the United States will lead the way toward a nuke-free world. But he also said that the United States “will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary, and guarantee that defense to our allies.”

Translation: We’re going to be sensible and try to rid the world of nukes eventually. But if someone threatens us or our allies, we will hit delete.

Is that not a big enough stick? You can bring ’em on. Or you can calm ’em down.

Obama’s outreach to Muslims via his visit to Turkey was similarly inspired. He delivered virtually the same message that Bush did countless times—that the United States is not at war with Islam—but without the reminder that either you’re with us or against us.

It didn’t hurt that Obama dusted off his middle name, Hussein, and mentioned having lived in a Muslim country.

“I get you,” he implied. “We are not enemies.”

A man who listens may be perceived as weak by those who prefer to talk big. But playground wisdom holds that showoffs are usually overcompensating, and the strongest one has nothing to prove. To answer the original question: When you’re the big dog, you can afford to smile. The saber is understood.

Kathleen Parker is a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. Her e-mail address is kparker@kparker.com.

reader COMMENTS
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(41)
SuperDave
Apr 13, 2009 at 9:15 a.m.
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Ha ha! Perfect. I will no longer read your posts as there is obviously no point. To others, heed my warning. You're wasting your time if you read darwin1, jja, lamonte or spark.
Have a great day all :O)

darwin1
Apr 13, 2009 at 9:04 a.m.
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Yes, SuperDumb, ignore the facts and nitpick the grammar. If you had noticed they are separate paragraphs which means separate trains of thought. Next time I will put in line breaks in so as not to confuse your simple mind.

SuperDave
Apr 13, 2009 at 8:43 a.m.
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darwin1: Let me spell it out for you. Here's your last post, replete with typical darwin1ian stream-of-consciousness babble:

1) sarcasm: "I'm sorry was my post too long and factual to comprehend? I know its difficult, but you should try sounding out the word if you don't know how to read it".

2) red herring: "SuperDave, if you don't like Socialism then you probably don't want your Social Security otherwise you might be a hypocrite".

3) changing the subject: "Could you also explain to me how the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Denmark and Sweden are exporting countries".

4) changing the subject AGAIN!!...(arghhh).."I am interested in knowing where the Republican'ts get their information from? Rush? Faux News?"

Don't bother replying, I am near to adding you to my "ignore" list, which currently contains spewers spark, lamonte, and jja. If you do reply, please make an attempt at focus, coherence, and civility.

darwin1
Apr 10, 2009 at 9:32 a.m.
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I'm sorry was my post too long and factual to comprehend? I know its difficult, but you should try sounding out the word if you don't know how to read it.

SuperDave, if you don't like Socialism then you probably don't want your Social Security otherwise you might be a hypocrite. Could you also explain to me how the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Denmark and Sweden are exporting countries.

I am interested in knowing where the Republican'ts get their information from? Rush? Faux News?

SuperDave
Apr 9, 2009 at 9:23 p.m.
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darwin1: I also do not understand your posts. You touched on a number of issues, briefly, but you make no salient point. Please make a little more effort to put together an understandable statement, I'm sure you have some important points to make. As to Obama, I fear this man's policies way more than I fear Castro, Chavez, Jong Il or Putin. He has his hand, not just in your pocket, but in your bank account.

MiltonRedmen
Apr 9, 2009 at 8:27 p.m.
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At least Obama is doing something right. He just asked for $83 billion in emergency funding for Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course he voted against emergency funding when Bush was in office but now he's asking for the funding. I'm glad to see he's still going to seek funds for the war even though there's a withdrawl pending.

Packerfan1
Apr 9, 2009 at 8:19 p.m.
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Why even respond to this darwin clown? when you debate an idiot you start to sound like one.

darwin1
Apr 9, 2009 at 7:26 p.m.
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I am not here to debate every military action over the past 100 to 1000 years. It is clearly an attempt to cloud the current military actions and those that got us into those situations. Sadly, Republican'ts just say Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and hope everyone will evidently yearn for better days under Democratic administrations.

Remember:
The insurgents were in their last days about 18 times.
Deficits don't matter.
The numbers of troops on the ground in Iraq are not the same number General Peatraus calls for in his own field manual.
Had Georgy simply listened to Colin Powell or his own father this mess would not have happened instead Georgy listened to Rummy and Dicky.

In all honesty, I don't think any war is effective. Good political change rarely comes from the barrel of a gun. Sometimes, it is a necessary evil. However, I don't feel as though it is a good idea to worship a group of people based on their military service. Too often bad people have used the conviction and circumstance of war to carry out heinous acts that are all too common in war time. This war was completely wrong for a number of reasons. First, war is hell. It should be engaged as such. Pretending as though you can waltz in and scare Saddam away, he hadn't been captured at the time of Mission Accomplished.

Lastly, on your personal comments. I didn't know I was a spokesperson for the left. I am a conservative unlike you radicals who went to war thinking that a country without democratic institutions and a history of restricting power could somehow magically sprout democracy, peace and love. Already, bombings in Baghdad are up because the Sunni militias aren't being paid and have been confronted by the Shia lead government forces. You see their used to be smart Republicans but the fascist wing is on a witch hunt to purge them.

darwin1
Apr 9, 2009 at 9:27 a.m.
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Or Reagan in Beirut - 400 marines. How many died under Clinton and Carter? Way to dilute the issue. Hey in that regards, the Republicans started a civil war. Way to go Republicans. Republicans starting a war and killing other Americans that sounds about right. I believe it was Nixon who said he would win Vietnam and then cut and ran. Also, Vietnam was an escalation and not a "Mission Accomplished" type of scenario. If you're going to start bringing up everything keep your facts straight. The crippled liberal beat two countries on two fronts in four years and brought us out of a depression.

Duckcarver
Apr 8, 2009 at 8:30 p.m.
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As a retired military officer that defended this nation in three wars, I am disappointed that the elected leader of this great nation performed as poorly as he did last week on foreign policy. Looks like the Carter years all over again. Proud to have voted for the other guy.

SuperDave
Apr 8, 2009 at 8:12 p.m.
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My guess is that justsaynotomath is female. Doesn't every study show that males are superior at math? But I will let him or her confirm or deny.

MiltonRedmen
Apr 8, 2009 at 8:07 p.m.
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Please, don't try to reason with justsaynotomath, he/she will just bash people who aren't in agreement with him/her and then make fun of you if you have a high number of posts on here (I've seen it a few times from this person). Don't worry bloggers, there are intelligent people here, and justsaynotomath falls into the category of a blog troll...out to bash opinions without every posting facts or logical thought himself/herself.

darwin1
Apr 8, 2009 at 7:48 p.m.
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We are talking about now. Not then. And it was a half-a-- plan. Can you at least admit that?

futurerichguy
Apr 8, 2009 at 12:17 p.m.
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If this is playground politics, my money would be on Obama to kick little Bushy's butt.

darwin1
Apr 8, 2009 at noon
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Engagement is always better than isolation. Why? Because our so called declining culture has a way of taking over other cultures. This is why Muslim countries are afraid of us and our culture. North Korea is no threat. Their rockets hardly work and they can barely feed their own people. They just do this to get attention.

Currently, Mr Obama is playing the good cop to Georgy's bad cop. This is how it is played. Work with us now or in four years you could have another crazy right wing Republican telling muslims to "bring it on" which is easy to say when your a coward placing other peoples lives on the line.

I would have thought that RAF would have more empathy for his fellow soldiers whom George had no problem putting in harms way with a half-a-- plan. Is this that Republican responsibility I always hear about?

usaret
Apr 8, 2009 at 11:27 a.m.
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Justsaynotomath: Blah, Blah, Blah. Did you hear that? RAF has provided more concrete facts then you have since all you like to do is bash, b---ch and complain about Bush. Yes, the Obama group must be very proud that your on their team. Wow!

RetiredAirForce
Apr 8, 2009 at 11:14 a.m.
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"wow 752 comments in less then 4 months"
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Did you read that or was that another audio?

RetiredAirForce
Apr 8, 2009 at 11:14 a.m.
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"Bush is an idiot, who had his Daddy do everything for him"
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Lucky him, a family that loved him. Now he just goes around killing dinosaurs and providing audio links to blogs to only a few select people.

RetiredAirForce
Apr 8, 2009 at 11:12 a.m.
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"how do you put something i didn't even say in quotes"
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The only quotes are around words you typed...again my computer is not getting the audio version your has. Damn Bush, where is my link!

RetiredAirForce
Apr 8, 2009 at 11:09 a.m.
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"like to hear themselves blah, blah, blah."
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Didn't know you could hear on a blog...must be another Bush conspiracy. My computer only displays printed words from the blog, is there another link you use to get the audio?
-do-do-do-do---do-do-do-do--- and the twilight zone theme continues.

RetiredAirForce
Apr 8, 2009 at 11 a.m.
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"forgot to mention that Bush caused the extinction of the dinosaurs!"
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He did?! Damn I didn't think he was that mean and despicable. Those big animals with those tiny brains, how did he do that? Must be smarter than we gave him credit for.

toasty2k
Apr 8, 2009 at 10:53 a.m.
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RetiredAirForce - You forgot to mention that Bush caused the extinction of the dinosaurs!

usaret
Apr 8, 2009 at 10:47 a.m.
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justsaynotomath: RAF hit it on the head about you comment!!!!!
Now, we have ship that has been seized by the Somalian pirates and I am sure that our great leader (whoops, that is what they call Kim in NK) will immediatly apologize for having the audacity to have one of our ships in the area and forcing them to hijacket it. Oh for shame on the non-christian United States.

RetiredAirForce
Apr 8, 2009 at 10:39 a.m.
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Impeach Bush and Cheney now....oh wait that didn't work...yeah but it's still all Bush who is at fault. The earthquake in Italy, yep that too all his fault. I heard sun spots on the sun are down must be Blackwater covert operation.

RetiredAirForce
Apr 8, 2009 at 10:34 a.m.
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"Bush IS AN IDIOT and caused all this ! OBAMA IS BRILLIANT AND ALL YOU UNEDUCATED HATERS CAN SHUT THE HELL UP ! YOUR A BUNCH OF DO NOTHINGS !"
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I am sure all the Obama people are very glad you are on their side. Spoken with total eloquence, proper spelling, punctuation and clarity. More to the point you are so right; it is Bush who is at fault of Obama’s unmacho diplomacy.

......Fade out with the tune of the twilight zone....

whoanellie
Apr 8, 2009 at 10:11 a.m.
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He might be recieved well so far in other countries cause he's over there kissing butts and brown nosing, but here people are getting a little discouraged with him. He's throwing our tax money at failing businesses and acting like it's nothing! We are more in debt than ever. He has spent more money than any other President , yes even Bush, in a very short time! Meanwhile North Korea sends up a missle and he does nothing except bow to the UN. He may be very intelligent, but I think he si not using his brains right now. Time will tell. I also think he is just ramming through stuff because he knows in 2 years things could change in the House and Senate if people become dissatisfied.

RetiredAirForce
Apr 8, 2009 at 9:58 a.m.
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"All you critics can't change that face and that is what makes you so mad." ???

slainte
Apr 8, 2009 at 9:38 a.m.
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Here's the thing.... Obama is smart. All you critics can't change that face and that is what makes you so mad.
We have to rebuild fences before they will work. Bullying, like we had for the past 8 years, was a nightmare and immature. I certainly respect the right to an opinion but try to keep an open mind when reviewing Obama's performance. I would hardly call him a failure- maybe that's what is really getting to you- he's been pretty fantastic and well received so far...

whoanellie
Apr 8, 2009 at 9:20 a.m.
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So far I haven't seen him respond very well to North Korea, leaving it all to the UN. They have shown in the past to do nothing either. I'm really concerned for our safety here in the US. I don't believe he will stand up to anything, he'll just want to meet with the leaders and get all warm and fuzzy! I have not seen a backbone unless it refers to a CEO. He has got to go a long way yet to prove himself to the american people. I don't feel he has our back, and a lot of people feel the same way.

SuperDave
Apr 8, 2009 at 7:46 a.m.
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"Americans still don’t really know Obama yet." True. We are learning more about this man day by day. While giving him the benefit of the doubt, he appears to be an abject failure so far. Brace yourself for higher prices, higher taxes, and more government corruption. And pray that China keeps loaning us money!

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