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Friday, July 03, 2009

Popularity at Any Price?

Posted by: Carol Platt Liebau at 4:14 PM

In a little-commented-upon development, President Obama has moved to restore full diplomatic relations with Hugo Chavez's Venezuela.

In the meantime, Chavez is blaming the US for the constitutional crisis in Honduras. Obviously, he knows who the senior partner is in the new US-Venezuela relationships, and is feeling his oats.

News analysis has focused on the restoration of diplomatic ties as a way for Obama to enhance the "popularity" of the US down in South America. Fair enough -- but are we talking popularity at any price?

After all, no doubt President Reagan would have been much more "popular" wtih the USSR if he had simply decided to continue President Carter's policies of weakness and appeasement. But Reagan understood that, first and foremost, he was supposed to be looking after America's national interest -- not his own personal popularity or the welfare of the world at large.

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Dose of Reality writes:	Sunday, July, 05, 2009 12:07 PM
Just following orders
The politbureau requires the leaders of all communist nations to come together. Barry is just following orders...
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Patriotic Liberal writes:	Friday, July, 03, 2009 7:29 PM
curmudgeon
actually, the only one announcing her resignation today is Ms. Palin. to understand how it is impossible to be patriotic without being liberal, please see my "blog" (urp) at patlib.blogtownhall.com.
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curmudgeon writes:	Friday, July, 03, 2009 7:06 PM
"patriotic liberal"
just cant get over laffin at your ridiculous name. i am so relieved now that you have proclaimed that "america's national interest is what guides president obama". is he announcing his resignation?
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Patriotic Liberal writes:	Friday, July, 03, 2009 5:45 PM
America's national interest
..is what guides President Obama. That you can take to the bank. Not the interests of some red state elites. Not the interests of some whacked-out Christianists. America's interests. it is not about popularity about any price. it is about the best way to advance America's interests. it turns out that people are not stupid. it turns out you cannot simply bully them to do what you want. it turns out that policy needs a little more finese than that. we know this now. the Reeps tried carrot-and-stick for eight years and all they did was exhaust our capital as well as tick people off. they did not accomplish a single thing for America. now the grownups are running things. by the end of the President's second term, the damage inflicted on our national reputation by these childish Reeps will be a distant memory.
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Dread writes:	Friday, July, 03, 2009 4:33 PM
As I recall...
Reagan favored talks and diplomacy with the Soviets, even going so far as to sign arms reduction treaties. If I recall correctly, even then your fellow neocons were calling him an appeaser and weak for doing so. I think it's very telling that you're also trying to elevate a tinpot dictator presiding over a broken economy with an army that could not stand against us even in our deployed state with a nuclear armed Soviet Union. I mean, for Pete's sake, get some perspective. Granted, Obama should move to normalize relations with the new Honduras government too, but putting an ambassador in a country isn't like waving a white flag.
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