Ten months into his own term as US president, Barack Obama continues to conjure the ghost of George W. Bush to help define himself in international circles.
Of course, it’s not really the ghost of George W. Bush. It’s the ghost of the caricature of George W. Bush.
Kicking off his Asian trip with remarks at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall today, President Obama spoke about our shared interests with Japan and other Asian nations.
And he spent time dwelling on himself (“I could not come here without sending my greetings and gratitude to the citizens of Obama, Japan” … “My sister Maya was born in Jakarta, and later married a Chinese-Canadian” … “As America’s first Pacific president”).
In the middle, the president reaffirmed America’s commitment to working with our global partners in multilateral forums. And in his best “don’t worry, I’m finally here” tone, he added, “I know that the United States has been disengaged from many of these organizations in recent years. So let me be clear: Those days have passed.”
It’s sad that the president continues to peddle this line of bull about his immediate predecessor. The idea that George W. Bush disengaged from the international community is based on two things: his refusal to hop on the UN’s global warming bandwagon; and the war in Iraq.
On the former, it’s worth noting that President Bush was supported by most Americans. Even guided by the enlightened leadership of Mr. Obama, it’s unlikely the Senate would approve any global climate treaty modeled on the UN’s principles of regulation and suppressed economic growth.
As for Iraq, anybody who paid attention knows that the US followed the UN path as long as was feasible. When the Bush Administration finally broke away and “unilaterally” took action in Iraq, it brought dozens of countries with it.
Aside from these two frequently misrepresented situations, the Bush Administration was vigorously engaged in multilateral frameworks – from the G20 to NATO to APEC to the Doha Round to the six-party talks on North Korea to international sanctions on Iran … the list goes on.
But President Obama needn’t offer proof of his assertion. It’s de rigueur among the international set to believe the Bush Administration was hopelessly US-focused. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration continues to sit on Free Trade Agreements the Bush Administration negotiated with Korea, Colombia, and Panama because American labor bosses don’t like them.
The president did mention one clear break from the past he’s about to make: “I look forward to becoming the first American President to meet with all 10 ASEAN leaders.”
He’ll be the first because Burma is an ASEAN member and former US presidents weren’t willing to meet with Burma’s military junta, best known for suppressing democracy and keeping Mr. Obama’s fellow Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for the last 20 years.
But it’s George Bush who didn’t have his priorities straight.
