Monday, December 24, 2007
HuffPo: Judge Obama not by the content of his mind, but by the color of his skin
The featured post on the HuffPo email alert argues that in foreign policy, the personal "identity" of the president is more important than "experience", and that Barack Obama's identity gives him an advantage over other candidates:
The main issue in American foreign policy now is repairing America's image in the world. There would be no greater asset in that task than a leader like Obama, who by his very multicultural hybrid biography, renews the fundamental promise of America to the world as a society where every individual is considered worthy enough to get a chance in life. That speaks volumes, far more than a full set of Foreign Affairs magazines on his bookshelf.
In the times ahead, we don't need so much a seasoned diplomat of the already past post-Cold War moment as someone with an intuitive grasp of global politics in a world of hybrid cultures. Dashing a clash of civilizations and making globalization work are the tasks at hand, not negotiating this or that treaty in Geneva.
To "lead by example," as Obama has argued -- instead of the Bush will to power policies -- is the fundamental shift that needs to take place in our foreign policy.
So let me get this straight. The Chinese, Japanese, Russians, Indians, Iranians, Arabs, and -- *cough* -- Europeans are going to respect the United States more because its president has an "intuitive grasp of global politics" because he had a black father? Only a coastal liberal who has never done business outside the United States could believe that. Imagine the outrage if somebody argued the opposite and (by the way) equally intuitive point: That much of the world is more racist and sexist than the United States, especially when it comes to Africans, and that we would be better off electing a white man to the White House.
Fortunately, there is no evidence that the "world's" undifferentiated respect or lack thereof for our president -- whatever that might be worth in geopolitical coin -- is a function of the color of his skin. From the perspective of most of the world's chattering classes, it is far more important that our president be left wing than of a particular race or religion. Of that there is no doubt.
9 Comments:
By 
, at
Mon Dec 24, 10:44:00 AM:
Thinking that the world is so simple a place as this HuffPo poster suggests is naive obviously, but now suggesting that America must do a penance of sorts for leading the world in fighting totalitarian Islamic Jihadists, by electing a President based on the color of his skin and his family background, boggles the mind.
By 
Mystery Meat, at
Mon Dec 24, 12:02:00 PM:
"The main issue in American foreign policy now is repairing America's image in the world."
That could be the most moronic statement of the year.
BTW, Merry Christmas 'Hawk, to you and your family.
By , at
Mon Dec 24, 06:08:00 PM:
Imagine the outrage if somebody argued the opposite and (by the way) equally intuitive point: That much of the world is more racist and sexist than the United States.
From having worked in Latin America for four years, I would agree with that statement.
1) In Latin America, in two different countries, I was invited into homes that featured portraits of Adolf Hitler. This does not include the retired professor of some prominence from a third country who gratuitously made anti-Semitic remarks to me.BTW,all of these people had Spanish surnames- not an escaped Nazi in the bunch.
2) Several times I was informed in Latin America in country A that it was a shame the US had a problem with blacks. According to these people, the problem was simply that blacks were in the US, not that blacks were mistreated.
3) An elderly black woman gratuitously called me a “white m*f*c*” for wearing Bermuda shorts- in country B where many adult males of all races also wore shorts- on the supposition that her countrymen would be put down for wearing shorts in the US ( From April- November in TX I wear shorts as much as possible. ).
4) An Australian-American couple informed me that when they conversed with a local male, that the male would ignore the wife, and talk only to the husband.
5) As regards racist xenophobic Americans, management of the American company I worked for had us work and live with people of a variety of races and national origins. Management of the American company I worked for made the assumption that we would all get along, and we did.
I could go on, but will stop.
Regarding the sexist and racist problems within those countries, I will simply say that the US does not suffer by comparison. Many liberals make the assumption that as regards racism and sexism, that the US is the great sinner. My experience was that by and large the US was no worse and in many or perhaps most instances better than average in those regards. I certainly have never seen any Hitler portraits in an American house.
The fastest way to turn a liberal of the progressive left into an evil right-winger is to have the liberal live and work in a third-world country. Live in the third world and shed your liberal guilt complex.
By Steve M. Galbraith, at
Mon Dec 24, 06:17:00 PM:
Well, of course, the problems in the world, the conflicts, the disagreements, the tensions are not due to the specific policies and views of other nations. It's not due to the self-interest as those countries see it that is causing problems.
No, these problems are due solely because of the policies of that cowboy George Bush.
Iran a problem? Bush is to blame. Putin acting up? Bush is to blame. China causes problems in Darfur? Bush is to blame. Pakistan problematic? Bush is to blame.
Now remember, this is considered the nuanced, sophisticated view of the world as opposed to the narrow black-and-white view of Bush and his minions.
Somewhere, on some parallel universe, this makes sense.
But not in the one I'm living in.
By , at
Mon Dec 24, 08:23:00 PM:
The danger isn't that some infantile blogger at the Huffington Post believes that; the problem is if Barack Obama is elected and he believes that.
Candidates will mouth all sorts of nonsense to convince people to vote for them; what you have to discern is if they are acting or truly believe the nonsense that they espouse.
And a Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night.
-David
By , at
Mon Dec 24, 09:57:00 PM:
Why should globalization be made to work?
Why not retreat into national interest of the people and nation of the United States?
Oh right, what matters is how well the nabobs of Davos treat visitors like Laurie David, not the national interest of America.
Thanks Huffpo!
By Purple Avenger, at
Mon Dec 24, 10:45:00 PM:
The day that pending immigration waiting lists aren't a mile long and immigrations quotas go unfulfilled is the day I'll start worrying about this nation's "image".
As long as all the rafts keep heading in one direction, we don't have any image problem.
By , at
Tue Dec 25, 01:29:00 PM:
A common conversation in the Arab world.
"America is an arrogant imperial power, just like Britain was. It hates and oppresses Muslims within its borders and all over the world. American Jews plotted 9/11.
Can you get me a visa?"
"Um, no."
By , at
Wed Dec 26, 08:38:00 PM:
Ya gotta love the gratuitous "will to power" slipped in. Portraits of Hitler, indeed.
