Obama's Speech at the UN General Assembly: One for the History Books
As an American living and working abroad I watched President Obama's speech at the United Nations General Assembly with great pride and more than a little relief:
Pride, following the shame of our previous administration's arrogant unilateralism; and relief, that our previous administration wasn't followed by another just like it or worse. All too well as an American abroad I recall the embarrassment of being represented on the world stage by a tactless, insensitive president who seemed to possess little more than a child's understanding of the world.
President Obama's speech at the UN General Assembly, on the other hand, was that of a true statesman and a world leader of the highest caliber, with no apologies and no excuses. I think it was among the best speeches of his career thus far.
Any criticism of it by his political opponents in the United States amounts to nothing but sour grapes and a sad attempt to deny their own disastrous failure of the past eight years.
Mark C. Eades
Visiting Professor of English Language and Literature,
Shanghai International Studies University
http://www.mceades.com
Give me a break! He simply went there and apologized to the dictators of the world and blamed America for everything that is wrong in the world today. The man is a disgrace. A total left wing fruit loop that conned the public into supporting him by pretending to be a centrist.
September 23, 2009 4:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Um, did you read or listen to the speech? If you are going to say that he apologized to dictators, then you had better be able to back up your words.
"He blamed America for everything wrong in the world?" Show us incompetents where our president failed representing us. Please provide us some citation or back up or you are just yammering into a vacuum.
September 23, 2009 6:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
The obtuse professor Mark Eades apparently assumes that Obama's only "political opponents in the United States" are Bush/Cheney neo-cons, and so he dismisses all possible criticism of Mr. Obama's speech in advance.
But not everyone who isn't a neo-con was overwhelmed by Obama's happy-talk.
The BBC says...
Xinhua was also dubious...
So Obama cheered for all good things, as usual, and accomplished not much, as usual.
You can add this speech to your highlight reel of Obama's many feel-good TV moments...
But history isn't made out of feel-good moments on TV.
September 24, 2009 6:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Whatever weak hand Obama is showing is a result of disasterous policies of the past administration that has left us with a military that is stretched thin and fighting two wars, plus an imploding economy. Some presidents may have chosen to put up a "strong" front, but those at the head power structures around the world know just how much leverage the US has these days. It's only this country that politicians aren't allowed to say anything less than America is number one and the greatest in the world. Sometime speaking the truth makes one appear weak from an alpha dog approach to politics. But it also frees one from having to attempt things that one cannot accomplish or make promises that one cannot keep.
Secondly - of course he didn't accomplish anything. The whole event is set up to merely allow leaders to pontificate. The greatest, brightest, and most dynamic president of all time could not have accomplished anything at this event. All one could do is give a speech.
And there is much damage in our relations not only with the leaders of many countries, but the people there as well, that needs to repaired. And just as "axis of evil" and "bring it on" speeches can do much damage, speeches such as this can do a lot of healing.
Obama's problem (which is not his fault) is that people and the media have expectations about US accomplishments based on the US being the only Superpower in the world, whereas the reality is that we have become just another major player on the global scene.
September 24, 2009 10:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
Someone taught me this trick to understanding the difference in perceptions that show up among people.
You imagine yourself sitting on one side of the room, the other person on the other, you put a big huge beach ball between them so that they can't see the the person on the other side...
The beach ball has portions of various colors as most people do.
So I sit on my side of the beach ball and I see white, orange, and green and the other person is seeing different colors yellow, blue, and red.
Asked what color the beach ball is, we both respond with what 'we' see clear as day.
I remind myself of this when I cannot figure out what the hell someone is thinking and why...
Your comment had me thinking this as well as ?clever? WTF?
September 24, 2009 12:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
That is a weird technique as an allegory, since reality does not actually have multiple facets.
Try this: consider how you know and see things. Then understand that someone else "knows" exactly in the same way something entirely different.
September 24, 2009 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actually it's a beginning step to helping one understand that we do not take in all that is available to perceive along with the reality of our individual filters through which we perceive what is there.
I'm sure you've seen the studies that show what percentage of information we take in through various senses etc. So there is a combination of what 'we' are taking in of a given experience and the filters through which we receive and interpret. This is just a base exercise to demonstrate two people can experience a 'beach ball' while having some very different experiences of what it looks like.
Really I was just trying to temper my initial reaction to what Bill said by reminding myself of these things.
September 24, 2009 11:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
That is true, but consider what happens when someone turns the beach ball: "Oh, it is different from this side." That happens extremely rarely.
The human mind's ability to play to preconceived notions far surpasses any variations in real sensory input.
September 24, 2009 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bull, we're going to make this very easy for you.
You may have gotten over-emotional or maybe you were tired, and not listened carefully and that's fine, we all make mistakes. But here's the text and below are your options:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-the-United-Nations-General-Assembly/
1. You can pick through the text and cite to us what you are talking about, the actual words, not that is seemed to you like he meant, and use them to support your accusation: "He simply went there and apologized to the dictators of the world and blamed America for everything that is wrong in the world today." Pay attention, because it's a terrible accusation that you made and Matyra says if you want to stay with that, you need to back it up.
2. You say you stand the guy and you don't trust him, but actually on this one point you misspoke and he didn't actually do what you said. We can forgive, no problem at all.
3. You do neither (you can accuse us of being stupid, or out-of-line, or arrogant, mock us, repeat the allegation, or say that it's obvious that you were right and that anyone can see it, or you can just not respond). In another words, you can decline to hold yourself accountable for your harsh words.
No. 3 is tempting, but it has risks. It's a catastrophic blow to your reputation and it then will be fair for us to treat you as the fruit loop and disgrace, i.e., you'll forfeit all claim to be taken seriously, and nobody wants that. So it's probably better to go with No. 1 or No. 2. And I'm just listening now to him finish up, denouncing tyranny, after 20 minutes, http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Real_Change_is_Possible/ I can tell you No. 1 is going to be *really* tough.
September 24, 2009 3:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Seriously? This is what your commentary is coming to now?
Obama is no more a left-wing fruit-loop than I am. In fact, he is more authentically conservative than any republican in national office since Nixon.
This sort of hyper-partisan stance isn't helping, especially when the president is the biggest friend republicans have right now.
September 24, 2009 6:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I support electing Obama to the President of our debating society. He can mop the floor with anybody.
Too bad there is so little commitment behind the pretty phrases.
September 23, 2009 7:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
To bad there is so little commitment behind your petty phrases.
September 24, 2009 8:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
I was proud of him and us too... a bit any way.
Have to say though that with accountability, I don't believe that there 'will' be an end to the torture. National law applies... and there are definitely some things I think we could apologize for... I am not saying we should... just that we 'could'.
September 24, 2009 12:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
should read 'without accountability'
September 24, 2009 1:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is the man who represents the United States of America to the rest of the world.
Here I am, he said. Now let us get to work.
And such a contrast to previous administrations although Clinton had a gift. I will not discount what he was able to do in the old Yugoslavia and in other parts of the world.
Now is the time for hope. My President has already enlisted some of the most important people in the world, and they are at work.
Introductions are over and we should all hope for the very best.
I believe we cannot do better than this.
September 24, 2009 2:32 AM | Reply | Permalink