You say Obama, I say Bush
The Century Foundation’s Jeffrey Laurenti earlier this week on the sharp differences between the Obama administration and its predecessor: Barack Obama is reaping treble returns for America this week as he makes his first appearance as president at the United Nations. Never has an American president been greeted on the U.N.’s unique global stage with ...
The Century Foundation's Jeffrey Laurenti earlier this week on the sharp differences between the Obama administration and its predecessor:
The Century Foundation’s Jeffrey Laurenti earlier this week on the sharp differences between the Obama administration and its predecessor:
Barack Obama is reaping treble returns for America this week as he makes his first appearance as president at the United Nations. Never has an American president been greeted on the U.N.’s unique global stage with such giddy anticipation, or undertaken so extensive and substantive a schedule there….
[I]t is Obama’s dramatic realignment of U.S. policy away from American conservatives’ unique fetishes, and to the mainstream goals and values that most of the American people share with the rest of the world, that explains the new opportunity for renewed American leadership.
From Helene Cooper’s write-up of Obama’s United Nations speech today in the New York Times:
But even as Mr. Obama sought to signal a changed tone in America’s dealings with the world, much of his speech centered on old and intractable issues, including Iran’s nuclear ambitions and a Middle East peace process. And while his choice of words was different and more conciliatory, the backbone of American policy he expressed remained similar to the Bush administration’s in many areas.
Well, that clarifies matters, then.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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