A Competence Crisis; Or, SNAFU Diplomacy
Restoring America's 'Image' In The World Appears An Elusive Path For Obama & Co.

Something from the Heart

Imagine, if you will, that it's Valentine's Day: your first Valentine's Day since you started dating a new sweetie. The excitement of this new relationship--so full of hope and promise--drives you to find the perfect, meaningful gift; one that reflects thought and efforts spent understanding who this romantic interest is and where they come from. Giddiness seeps out of your pores as the anticipation of seeing they're face light-up builds and builds. There's a knock at the door...

Perhaps you exchange a warm embrace, say hello, grab your things and head off to dinner. Finally, after appetizers and an artfully prepared entree, the time comes to reach under the table for the gifts you took so much care in finding for the special person seated across from you. Oh, there is joy in their face when they see what you've given to them, and of yourself.  Still giddy, it's your turn to receive a gift. As it turns out, they've gotten you their favorite band's new album--which they are all too eager to rip open and listen to in the car on the way home...

...disappointed? Maybe a little bitter? Feeling like maybe this relationship means a lot more to you than it does to them? How could you not?

So it was that earlier this month when the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown, came to visit our new President, Barack Obama, one of them likely walked away from the encounter feeling like a jilted lover--unappreciated and insulted.

UK based reporting on the Heads of States first-date described "extremely rude" treatment paid unto their Prime Minister. The Telegraph cited unanimous British officials as, "[conceding] that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister," to wit, canceling/rescheduling a joint press conference, denial of a customary State Dinner at the White House (or even a club sandwich from the White House kitchen), and unpaid pleasantries upon finally meeting.

According to the Telegraph, "A well-connected Washington figure, who is close to members of Mr Obama's inner circle, expressed concern that Mr Obama had failed so far to 'even fake an interest in foreign policy'."

So is it amateur-hour at the Obama White House, or does the administration just not care? Perhaps Obama really was just "too tired" to pay the kind of respect to Mr. Brown that he, and his country deserve; apparently, the whole-sale destruction of a powerful economy is absolutely exhausting, even for a young, vibrant, and 'hopeful' American President. But really, when does "I'm too tired" mean anything other than, "I'm just not that into you anymore..."?

Then there was the gift exchange...

Another UK media outlet, the Daily Mail, outlines in vivid detail the gifts delivered to President Obama by Mr. Brown:

"The Prime Minister gave Mr Obama an ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet.

The unique present delighted Mr Obama because oak from the Gannet's sister ship, HMS Resolute, was carved to make a desk that has sat in the Oval Office in the White House since 1880.

Mr Brown also handed over a framed commission for HMS Resolute and a first edition of the seven-volume biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert."

WOW!  The framed commission and the first edition Churchill biographies are cool gifts, to be sure... But the thought and meaning behind an ornamental rendition of a piece of history like that--a piece of an "anti-slave ship" given to the first black President--goes beyond words. I cannot conceive of a more touching gesture.

How giddy Mr. Brown must have been in anticipation of what this 'hopeful herald of change' across from him had picked out to demonstrate how much this relationship has been historically and would continue to be... So what did our esteemed President get for the British Prime Minister?

25 DVD's, selected by the American Film Institute on the White House's request. I guess there's no way to say, "Thank you for your support in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all the other ways you've contributed to our national security," like a copy of Star Wars. As one British columnist noted, "We do have television and DVD stores on this side of the Atlantic."

He couldn't even be bothered to select the titles himself... Maybe I'm too cynical, but I don't see how this kind of (insulting) thoughtlessness is going to "restore" America's image around the world. Let's just hope the President-in-Training doesn't overreach next time and hand to Benjamin Netanyahu a collection of Nazi flat-ware.

Making An Impression, Clinton Style

As President Barack Obama said on the campaign trail, "Don't tell me words don't matter!"

Even our former President, Bill Clinton, knows how important words are. He is, after all, the same man who explained that his denial of an extramarital affair was true, depending on what the definition of "is" is...

...and then there was Hillary.

Having failed to capture the Democratic nomination for the Presidency, Hillary Clinton (wife of a former President and former Senator from New York herself), settled for the high-profile cabinet position of Secretary of State. When he nominated Mrs. Clinton for the job, then President-Elect Obama commented that she "will command respect in every capitol." Clinton assured Americans that she would give the job her all.

Fast forward from early December '08 to early March '09.

The stage was set for what is fast becoming a hallmark of the new administration: political theater. Explaining for the camera crews that team-Obama wishes to "reset" American/Russian relations, Secretary Clinton presented a symbolic token of the Obama administrations commitment to 'hope' and 'change' where diplomacy is concerned to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Inside of a little gold box, Lavrov found a small "reset" button--a lighthearted gesture of friendship.

There was one small problem, as the Chicago Tribune's Mark Silva notes:

The word on the button was meant to say "reset" in Russian.

"We worked hard to get the right Russian word," Clinton told Lavrov. "Do you think we got it?"

"You got it wrong," Lavrov replied - the word actually means "overcharge.''

"We won't let you do that to us," Clinton said, with the two laughing.

HaHa... Ha?

When the State Department of the United States of America can't accurately communicate a single word in the native language of a nation we've been studying, spying on, and otherwise intrinsically linked to in one way or another for over half a century, something has gone terribly awry. There's nothing funny about that kind of incompetence. Is this brand of "hard work" the kind Obama thinks is going to "demand respect in every capitol"?

Kudos, I guess, to Mrs. Clinton for making Lavrov laugh; but, something tells me he was laughing at her as opposed to with her.

If this is Secretary Clinton's "all," we're in ever more trouble than even Glenn Beck fears...

Out of the Abyss of a dismal first fifty-days in office, the Obama administration seems determined to set a land-speed record for achieving the (dis)honor of most embarrassing United States Presidency in history. With a President "too tired" to show our allies even a modicum of respect, and a Secretary of State too incompetent to pin down the meaning of a single word, the future of America's 'image' looks bleak indeed. Such is the folly of electing an inexperienced rhetorician on some vague promise of 'hope' and 'change.' We are getting the 'change' alright, but right now I just 'hope' these people stop giving gifts entirely.

But nevermind all that--just repeat after him: "Yes we can!"


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Daily Mail Article

Telegraph Article

Telegraph Columnist Blog

Clinton's 'reset' button

After watching the first Presidential Debate last night, I felt confident that McCain had "won," but still unsatisfied with his performance on the whole. At this point, it's hard to tell if I'm disappointed in the Republican nominee or just utterly disgusted by the Democratic nominee. Of course, everyone's a critic and everyone thinks they can do someone else's job better; I'm certainly no exception. That notwithstanding, I can't shake this feeling that McCain is surrounded by all the wrong people. Why aren't they coaching him on how to talk directly to the American People?

There were a couple moments when I felt that Senator McCain scored big points. For instance, when he referred to Obama as a "convert" with respect to earmark/pork-barrel spending restraint. The point that Barack Obama changed his ways--where earmark requests are concerned--only after beginning his bid for the White House, is revealing. And calling earmarks a "gateway" was something I think would tend to resonate with average Americans. But all of that was lost when McCain refused to fight back on the issue of the two candidates contrasted tax plans.

Conservatives and Republicans get it. Raising taxes to pay for a bigger government threatens our markets, our business, and ultimately erodes our individual liberties. But too many Americans lose sight of this reality when they are bombarded with class-warfare rhetoric and populist messages of "hope" and "change." This leads to my first criticism of the way McCain handled himself last night (and indeed the way he's handled himself throughout the general election campaign).

In the first act of the debate, the focus centered around the economy. I honestly expected more clarity from both candidates on the issue of the "bailout package" being negotiated in Washington D.C.  What I wanted to see was each of them take a position on the initial Bush Administration proposal or what had been worked on by the administration and Congress up to that point; and, I was hoping to see McCain come out against the proposal and take the side of House Republicans and the American People.  Instead, we were given the same talking points about the same grievances they have with each others plan.

"Senator Obama has asked for nearly a million dollars in pork for every day he's been in the Senate."

"I'm going to cut taxes for 95% of Americans."

"He's gonna increase the size and scope of government and kill the economy by taxing producers to death."

"We can't afford four more years of George Bush's policies."

Maybe I'm alone in this, but it's all starting to get rather boring. Obama is going to keep doing what he does. He will keep invoking the specter of George W. Bush and keep using his smooth voice to reassure voters that he really cares about the common-man who clings to his guns and Bible. He's invested too much into his own propaganda to simply abandon it now or employ a new campaign tactic. McCain, on the other hand, has an opportunity to introduce a new strategic "surge" of anti-class-warfare rhetoric and honest populism into his campaigning.

I say, "has," because although I feel that McCain squandered an opportunity last night, he will have another chance to make the right moves.

The key is in the psychology of ADHDesque voter attention spans and emotional responses. What McCain needs to do is make voters ashamed of the jealous vitriol they are provoked into feeling for their fellow Americans by Democratic speech-writers who use issues like income disparity and healthcare to paint success as a monster that needs to be vanquished. He needs to make voters think about how taking money from the rich is going to pad their own pockets--and if that's the way they want to pay for their groceries, gas, or flat-screen TV's--if that promise could be kept in the first place. The achievement of Barack Obama thus far has been in disassociating (in the minds of voters) wealth from citizenship. For McCain the endgame is a different brand of populism; one that doesn't pit Americans vs. Americans.

One way Senator McCain can turn Obama's message on it's head is to re-frame Obama's insistence that he'll "cut taxes for 95% of Americans."  He can do this effectively by detailing the costs underlying such a proposal. He doesn't even have to tell America what he thinks the costs will be. A few rhetorical questions do the job quite nicely.

"What's going to happen to the cost of groceries when the companies and farmers who deliver your perishables costs go up because of Obama's tax-hikes on the 'rich?'"

"How high will gas prices go when Obama imposes a 'windfall profits tax' on oil producers to fund his taxpayer funded investment into unproven and unready technologies?"

"What's going to happen to your ability to find a new or better job, or a competitive wage when Obama's tax increases deter foreign investment and push domestic corporations overseas?"

"Are these consequences worth the five-hundred or so dollars Obama promises to transfer into your accounts from the accounts of other American citizens?"

What is required of McCain right now is nothing more than an elaboration of his, "Country First," campaign slogan in a way that forces each voter to choose between, "me first," and, "country first."

This is the kind of honest populism Senator McCain can exploit to his advantage in these final weeks of the campaign.  It's because he isn't asking these questions in forums like last nights debate that I can't help but assume that McCain is surrounded by all the wrong people. This assumptions is underscored by other recent events. The controversy surrounding the "bailout package" being negotiated right now in D.C. provides another glimpse into the inadequacies of his campaign advisers.

According to, Rassmussen Reports, only 24% of those polled support the bailout proposal.  Fully 50% oppose it outright. John McCain may yet wrestle an earned sense of respect away from voters by choosing to return to Washington to work on the bailout as Obama went back to the campaign stump, but what he should be doing is leading the House Republicans in their opposition to a "package" the American People overwhelmingly do not support.  What better way to effectively counter-punch against Obama's jabs about the connection between George Bush and John McCain than for McCain to split with Bush and side with Americans on this very important issue? Where are his advisers who can't see the writing on the wall here?

Regardless...

Out of the Abyss of this socio-economic disaster we may see a clear front-runner emerge... Will McCain recalibrate his message and branding, or will he allow Obama to carry this election on the strength of unchecked class-warfare and disingenuous populism?