Transmit This Information to Vladimir ... Again
With Russian President Vladimir Putin embarrassing President Barack Obama by skipping the G-8 meeting today at Camp David, I couldn't help but think back on the infamous open microphone exchange between Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev earlier this spring. Reporters overheard Obama asking for "space" on missile defense until after the election and Medvedev cheerfully responding, "I will transmit this information to Vladimir."
Perhaps something got lost in translation, but more likely Putin understood the message perfectly. Obama remains as naive on foreign policy today as then-Senator Hillary Clinton described him during the 2008 Democratic primary. Over at Forbes, I have a new column about a disturbing pattern behind Obama's foreign policy comments. "Words that idealistic observers generously interpreted as gaffes have turned out to be the basis for a self-proclaimed realist foreign policy."
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Aug '10
Re: Transmit This Information to Vladimir ... Again
Reminds me to check again if the Argentina/Maldives remark had any legs in Latin America. There had been nothing on Brazilian sites. The Brazilian media do love Obama and would never criticize him. But a search for Obama Maldivas turns up a few snorting reactions on Spanish-American sites. Not that Obama or Hillary is paying attention to any of this. I still think that if you're a Chicago pol, you just don't care about foreign stuff. If you're a Chicago pol, you figure you can afford to be slovenly. Except for vaguely remembered injunctions against wave-making and loser-backing, you're not guided by very much. And hey, you're still in office, with a good chance of staying there another 4 years!
Re: Transmit This Information to Vladimir ... Again
Now you're making me wish that I had worked in the Falklands into the column.
Re: Transmit This Information to Vladimir ... Again
I could have also mentioned the obvious contrast with the incredible moral clarity that President Bush showed this week in his speech in Washington.
Apr '12
Re: Transmit This Information to Vladimir ... Again
Au contraire - I can not agree that Obama is naive on foreign relations. With his background, he has a fundamentally very different vision for America's future and many, many cultures outside of America and the West hold his same views of American policy and its incredibly successful companies. Dinesh D'Souza was denounced for being a horrible racist his book on understanding Obama. Reading the essay in Forbes, much of it rang true for me.