This is a very good article not bashing Obama but simply saying it as it is right now. Obama spent precious time and money away from America when the economy is our biggest concern and comes back with nothing at all. It's kind of sad actually..

He not only came back with nothing but LOST the Japanese help in refueling our ships headed for and working in support of the mission in Afghanistan.

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When he entered office, US President Barack Obama promised to inject US foreign policy with a new tone of respect and diplomacy. His recent trip to Asia, however, showed that it's not working. A shift to Bush-style bluntness may be coming.

There were only a few hours left before Air Force One was scheduled to depart for the flight home. US President Barack Obama trip through Asia had already seen him travel 24,000 kilometers, sit through a dozen state banquets, climb the Great Wall of China and shake hands with Korean children. It was high time to take stock of the trip.

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An end to diplomacy is also taking shape in Washington's policy toward Tehran. It is now up to Iran, Obama said, to convince the world that its nuclear power is peaceful. While in Asia, Obama mentioned "consequences" unless it followed his advice. This puts the president, in his tenth month in office, where Bush began -- with threats. "Time is running out," Obama said in Korea. It was the same phrase Bush used against former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, shortly before he sent in the bombers.

There are many indications that the man in charge at the White House will take a tougher stance in the future. Obama's advisors fear a comparison with former Democratic President Jimmy Carter, even more than with Bush.

US Foreign Policy: Obama's Nice Guy Act Gets Him Nowhere on the World Stage - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

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Obama is a man who could deliver a snap judgment about a Boston police officer who arrested an "obstreperous" Harvard professor-friend, but would warn Americans against "jumping to conclusions" about a mass murderer at Fort Hood who shouted "Allahu Akbar."

Not a chance. He doesn't know how to exert power over people he can't sue.

Ohhh...Ohhh...Ohhh...

Obama's foreign policy does not work
Obama's Afghanistan policy does not work
Obama's economic policy does not work
Obama's health care policy does not work
Obama's energy policy does not work

Many of us knew all this last year... for the rest of you... how is all that HOPE and CHANGE working for you NOW!?!

By the time Obama is done, Jimmy Carter won't like the comparison

If only someone had taken the time to change the locks while he was away...

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January 21, 2013: The End of an ERROR.

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."
"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."
---Benjamin Franklin

lol, sadly the best we can hope for is a conservative (notice I say conservative, NOT republican) blowout in 2010. Most republicans are juts as bad as democrats, and the "Tea-Baggers", as Obama likes to insult people that disagree with him have to stay vigilant. Although the White house says that they are more extremists then even the fort hood terrorist, they have to keep pressing on!

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Obama is a man who could deliver a snap judgment about a Boston police officer who arrested an "obstreperous" Harvard professor-friend, but would warn Americans against "jumping to conclusions" about a mass murderer at Fort Hood who shouted "Allahu Akbar."

Obama is not a leader; he is essentially a mediator and a diplomat.

Those gifts and abilities have their place and have produced a certain amount of affection and respect.

But they are not a substitute for leadership. He is not a strong character or a man of principle, and he is helpless when it comes to dealing with genuine disagreement or the threat of real aggression.

That is one of the great problems with the left-wing view of the world: the childish insistence that extreme niceness and sentiment can rule the world.

Obama is the perfect example of leftist niceness mixed with just the right amount of politeness, relativism and mild masochism.

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My good blade carves the casques of men,
My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure.

"Sir Galahad," by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1834)

Our leverage isn't what it used to be.

Demanding tribute is probably not going to be very fruitful either.........

I think that we need to face the fact that it's not all about Obama or a reflection of his leadership. It's probably more a reflection of America's geopolitical standing.

Regardless of who the president is, I'm wondering if we could afford to be assholes right now if we wanted to.

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The world could use more Stan Ovshinsky's

assholes? who is asking anyone to be an asshole?

We provide Japan, taiwan, S. Korea with protection. For this we need them to bend to our will at times. If they dont want to then we should not spend our treasure on protecting them.

China is dependant on America for most of its exports. If America fails they would fail also, and if we need concesions from them they need to understand they need to concede.

Obama just took it up the ass from Japan, who pulled out from helping us refuel our ships...

He wasted precious time touring countries and came home with nothing.

Let me ask.. what was this trip for?? What did he want to accomplish?

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Obama is a man who could deliver a snap judgment about a Boston police officer who arrested an "obstreperous" Harvard professor-friend, but would warn Americans against "jumping to conclusions" about a mass murderer at Fort Hood who shouted "Allahu Akbar."

You pretty much agree with me that it's about leverage then....but you seem to think that we carry more leverage than we actually do.

The time when we could expect nations to automatically bend to our will might be over. And it's not because Obama is the president. It's because our nation has evolved to the point of being a dependent consumer that's deeply indebted....

We are just in no position to say "Jump!" and expect them to ask "How High?"........We've probably come to the point where we have to say "Jump!" and expect them to say "How much will you give me to Jump?"

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The world could use more Stan Ovshinsky's

I agree that is the impression we have given recently, and we need to stop. We need to say jump and when they say "How much will you give me to Jump?", reply with nothing.

We have given enough, and if they won't bend we need to be stop giving.

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Obama is a man who could deliver a snap judgment about a Boston police officer who arrested an "obstreperous" Harvard professor-friend, but would warn Americans against "jumping to conclusions" about a mass murderer at Fort Hood who shouted "Allahu Akbar."

Utterly absurd.

Strong leadership does not mean being offensive.

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My good blade carves the casques of men,
My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure.

"Sir Galahad," by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1834)

Strong leadership needs to take leverage into account.

What we need to be is reasonable, given the circumstances. I am not being disingenuous when characterizing being unreasonable as being assholes. I think being unreasonable would be offensive.

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The world could use more Stan Ovshinsky's

This has no relation to the article or to the discussion. You introduced the idea that someone is expecting/demanding that Obama should be unreasonable - and then argued that he should not be. No one will disagree with you because no one else was talking about that or expecting him to be.

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My good blade carves the casques of men,
My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure.

"Sir Galahad," by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1834)

It is not unreasonable to expect China to slap down N. Korea, and its not unreasonable to expect japan to continue to work with us by assisting in refueling our ships.

These things are not unreasonable at all.

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http://www.BHOCOUNTDOWN.com



Obama is a man who could deliver a snap judgment about a Boston police officer who arrested an "obstreperous" Harvard professor-friend, but would warn Americans against "jumping to conclusions" about a mass murderer at Fort Hood who shouted "Allahu Akbar."

A complaint was registered in this thread that Obama came home empty handed and that we should be making no concessions. This implies a "Do it, or Else!" position which I view to be unreasonable because we simply don't have the leverage at our disposal.

It is not a position you took, so I'm not expecting you to explain yourself in that regard.

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The world could use more Stan Ovshinsky's