EMFK

Author: Jeff Jacoby
Link: Boston Globe - Full Article
Date Published: November 9th, 2008
Excerpt:

THE STORYLINE goes something like this: America’s onetime popularity in the world was squandered by George W. Bush, whose belligerence and unilateralism after Sept. 11, 2001, alienated allies and engendered widespread anti-Americanism. But now, with the election of Barack Obama, America can restore its good name and regain the world’s goodwill.

One vigorous exponent of this narrative has been Obama himself. “The single most important issue that we’re facing in this election,” he said during the campaign, is choosing a leader “to repair all the damage that’s been done to America’s reputation overseas.” When I become president, he often told voters, “the world will look at America differently.”



Sure enough, much of the international reaction to Obama’s election has been ecstatic. “Legions of jubilant supporters set off firecrackers in El Salvador, danced in Liberia, and drank shots in Japan,” the Los Angeles Times reported. Kenya declared a national holiday. South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu exulted: “We have a new spring in our walk and our shoulders are straighter.” The Sun, Britain’s most popular newspaper, headlined its story “One Giant Leap for Mankind.”


For Obama, such worldwide jubilation must be gratifying. He should take it all with a healthy shake of salt, however. Because it isn’t going to last.

EMFK: The Obama love fest will last as long as the other countries believe America is being weakened and towing the line of the world. The moment he strays from the beaten path—watch out!