Does the President Obama doctrine mean to walk softly and offer a big apology?”
Some initial thoughts on Chicago’s failure to secure the 2016 Olympic Games, Rio’s win, and what this demonstrates about Obama’s leadership on the world stage. Sending Barack Obama to Europe was based on the overconfident and highly mistaken premise that global popularity translates into real US influence – what the administration calls “raising America’s standing in the world”. It doesn’t. Obama may be far more popular with the voters of France, Germany, Kenya, India or Indonesia than he is in the United States, but that does not mean America is more powerful or even more respected. As I’ve written before, the key reason why the president receives such loud applause at international settings like the United Nations is because he apologizes for his country on foreign soil at every opportunity, and says America is no better than anyone else. It is a message which resonates well with those who oppose America and believe the US needs to be humbled. It actually strengthens anti-Americanism
