Does Obama Understand Why Some Nations* Hate Us?
As President Obama returns from what some have called his second apology tour abroad, Victor Davis Hanson asks,
One wonders whether President Obama, for all the soaring rhetoric, grasps why certain nations really do hate us. Does he think a Grozny, Darfur, Rwanda, Serbia, or Tibet happen in reaction to US global sinful conduct? Does he appreciate why hot spots like Cyprus, Taiwan, or Georgia, do not boil over—or under what conditions they might? Does he really believe that in the pre-Bush era we all got along (cf. his al Arabiya interview); then Bush’s strutting, unilateralism, and preemption, presto, caused anti-Americanism.
He seems to think that it’s his predecessor’s policies rather than our adversaries’ ideologies which is their source of their animus. If only we would change, well, then so would they.
All too many on the left seek the answer to the question, “Why Do They Hate Us?” in the object of the question rather than its subjects.
Sometimes, it seems our critics do the same sort of thing. They attribute the bile they spew against us to something that is detestable about us, never considering that the ardor of their animus may stem from some inner “need” of their own. Maybe that’s one reason they so readily defend the President’s rhetoric abroad. The same means by which they find the roots of anti-American animus in America allows them them excuse their own bile.
Anti-Americanism, however, is part and parcel of the ideology of our adversaries abroad. They need something to run against, to deflect attention from their failed policies and to exaggerate their own messianic standing, as the hero defending his people against an evil which would otherwise overwhelm them. Or, as Hanson puts it:
Why does Hugo Chavez hate us? Is it because Bush’s ‘dead or alive’ed him or ‘with us or against us’ed him? Hardly. Chavez wants to end democracy in Venezuela for good, turn it into a Cuba-like communist dictatorship, use his oil revenues to whip up liberationist, anti-Yanqui feelings throughout South America, and end up with himself as some sort of messianic caudillo of the entire socialist continent.
Perhaps, as Max Boot offers, the President’s handshake with Chavez was just a handshake which “could actually be a smart strategic move.” I hope he’s right.
By this explanation, the handshake was thus the least of Obama’s errors abroad. It was his apologies which were really disturbing. Not just because of how they weaken his nation’s standing in the comunity of nations, but because of what they reveal about his understanding of the world.
He needs understand that without America, there would still be evil in the world, indeed, there would likely be more of it. Much more. Much, much, much more.
*UPDATE: As I look at this title the day after writing it, I realize a better title would have been, “Does Obama Understand why Certain World Leaders Hate us.” At least with Chavez and Ahmadinjihad, the hatred comes from from them than their people.
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“He (Obama) needs understand that without America, there would still be evil in the world, indeed, there would likely be more of it. Much more. Much, much, much more.”
Stop, Obama has evil under control, even on the run. Evil, is in the past. This is a new day, we have change and hope. Just his presence is enough to command evil aside. He is the one and you know it.
I am sure he and Hugo tickled each other’s palms when they shook hands. That Hugo, such a sweet guy. I could just give him a hug.
Comment by EDinTampa — April 21, 2009 @ 5:11 am - April 21, 2009
<They attribute the bile they spew against us to something that is detestable about us, never considering that the ardor of their animus may stem from some inner “need†of their own.
Along those same lines, remember how their catastrophic failures in 2000 and 2004 were everybody else’s fault? It was either Bush, Rove, or those “ignorant southerners” or all of the above. Of course they still harbor hatred for the SCOTUS disallowing Algore to steal an election.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — April 21, 2009 @ 5:37 am - April 21, 2009
I am beginning to wonder if Obama is drawn to tin-pot dictators for some sort of validation. I can imagine that he will read the book Chavez gave him and learn “valuable lessons” from it.
He is strangely comforted from association with Whackastanis and Belligerants. Bill Ayres and The Rev. Wright are certainly notable mentors for one training to walk and talk among the socially disturbed.
He is seriously considering releasing some of the Gitmo detainees into the general American society and providing them with welfare. That type of Alice in Wonderland rationale is available to only a selected few “leaders” who play out their fantasies in deadly earnest.
Comment by heliotrope — April 21, 2009 @ 9:30 am - April 21, 2009
Ann Coulter summed it up perfectly a couple of years ago: Darfur is the natural state of the world; America is the unique, bizarre exception.
Comment by Sean A — April 21, 2009 @ 11:44 am - April 21, 2009
What a guy Obamessiah is! After one trip abroad, Axelrod declares that anti-Americanism is now “uncool.”
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/20/axelrod-anti-americanism-now-not-cool/
Comment by Juju — April 21, 2009 @ 12:08 pm - April 21, 2009
thank goodness President Obama’s willing to do the work to repair our standing in the world, which was left in tatters by bushco. We now have a president with the guts to do the right thing. Diplomacy, which has been so severely lacking the past eight years, is the only way to move forward.
Comment by buckeyenutlover — April 21, 2009 @ 12:47 pm - April 21, 2009
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. — Sun Tzu
Problem is, Obama’s friends are enemies of the United States.
Comment by Ignatius — April 21, 2009 @ 12:48 pm - April 21, 2009
Oops! I see that ColoradoPatriot already posted this article.
Comment by Juju — April 21, 2009 @ 12:49 pm - April 21, 2009
Every generation or so, Americans forget how terrible liberal ideas are in practice and need to try them out. Obama is following the policies of Jimmuh Carter and will ultimately occupy the same (low/bad) place as Carter in the pantheon of American presidents. Unfortunately, the country’s good people have to white-knuckle it as it plays out, then clean up the mess.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — April 21, 2009 @ 12:52 pm - April 21, 2009
(hmm, and what if the good people all secretly went on strike? Sounds like there could be an 1100-page novel in that…
)
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — April 21, 2009 @ 12:58 pm - April 21, 2009
thank goodness President Obama’s willing to do the work to repair our standing in the world, which was left in tatters by bushco.
Tell us, buckeyenutlover, why are you and your fellow leftists so obsessed with our “standing” with North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, and all these other examples of what happens when a country is run by the Obama Party and fully implements the Obama Party’s goals?
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — April 21, 2009 @ 1:02 pm - April 21, 2009
Obama has to be naive to believe that his apologies and deprecating the U.S is going to make the other nations love us. Loving us doesn´t necessarily mean respecting us. So far he has achieved neither. He is permitting other nations to crap all over us without defending our principles. ARENA (the Republican Party here in El Salvador) has a documentary history of the party. in which during a Summit of the Americas, (circa 2000) Fidel Castro insulted the then President Francisco Flores. Do think he sat there, amiled and took it? Hell no! He gave it back to Castro and called him everything but a man. Ronald Reagan would never have tolerated the b.s spewed by Chavez and Ortega. He, too, would have given it back in spades.
Comment by Roberto — April 21, 2009 @ 1:12 pm - April 21, 2009
Why are Obama’s banalities and bromides always referred to as “soaring rhetoric”? Is it that his statements fly by high enough and indistinguishable enough that you can’t really grab them and analyze them — except for the sh*t on your coat?
Comment by Ignatius — April 21, 2009 @ 1:16 pm - April 21, 2009
#6 – And again, the Nutty Buck has been drinking the Snob Kool-Aid again.
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — April 21, 2009 @ 3:30 pm - April 21, 2009
#6
We now have a president with the guts . . Are you kidding? He´s the biggest gutless wonder since Jimmy Carter.
Comment by Roberto — April 21, 2009 @ 4:00 pm - April 21, 2009
Move forward? How, exactly? He tried his pillow biting diplomacy in Europe and didn’t accomplish anything he set out to do. Germany won’t ratchet up their debt, Austria told him he could keep the Club Gitmo guests and pretty much all of Europe told him to shove it when he asked for more soldiers in Afghanistan.
Only a liberal would call failure a “success”.
As Josef Joffe put it, his popularity doesn’t mean a whole hell of a lot.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124000916299330597.html
Comment by ThatGayConservative — April 21, 2009 @ 6:32 pm - April 21, 2009
As I look at this title the day after writing it, I realize a better title would have been, “Does Obama Understand why Certain World Leaders Hate us.†At least with Chavez and Ahmadinjihad, the hatred comes from from them than their people.
You’re actually somewhat on to something here. Just start thinking about it like a two-way street. If the citizens of Venezuela and Iran don’t actually reflect the demagoguery that their leaders are always expounding, if the people of those countries are being held hostage to some extent by their leaders’ political and historical ambitions, isn’t it possible that similar mechanics could be at play in the United States?
At this point, you can run towards saying all kinds of things about Barack Obama if you want, but I’m thinking specifically of the presidency of George Bush. This was a guy who had grand visions of waging war across the Middle East and rebuilding it in his own image. If Chavez has been falsely portraying the United States as the bad guy to make political ground in his country, you don’t suppose that George Bush could have been falsely portraying Venezuela as the bad guy to make political ground in this country? For all the differences and variations there are that exist in different forms of government, there’s probably a lot of common things in the head-of-state playbook, too.
Comment by Levi — April 21, 2009 @ 10:49 pm - April 21, 2009
If Chavez has been falsely portraying the United States as the bad guy to make political ground in his country, you don’t suppose that George Bush could have been falsely portraying Venezuela as the bad guy to make political ground in this country?
And all these other countries are in on it, I suppose.
Anything to excuse the Obamamessiah. Tell us, racist Levi, are you capable of admitting that the Obamamessiah ever does anything wrong? Is that within your thought process, or are you just going to spin some more like you do for your Obama Party’s support of “torture”, of waterboarding, of tax cheats, of massive multi-trillion dollar deficits, and so forth?
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — April 22, 2009 @ 1:19 am - April 22, 2009
And Fidel’s gone ahead and confirmed for us what President Obama’s ‘overtures’ to Cuba get us. A reinforced Castro Regime.
Way to go, Mr. President!
Comment by The Livewire — April 22, 2009 @ 12:40 pm - April 22, 2009
On the front page of Managua, Nicaragua´s El Nuevo Diario is a picture of Daniel Ortega shaking hands with President Obama. This was supposedly after the 56 minute diatribe aginast the U.S. What kind of a message does it send? You can crap all over the head of Barak Obama and on the United States and he´ll thank you for it afterwards!
Comment by Roberto — April 23, 2009 @ 12:06 pm - April 23, 2009