Saturday, March 14, 2009
"... not sure you're making any sense: Bush and Obama may represent fundamentally different approaches, but if you end up in the same place regardless, implied in what you're saying, then what does it matter? Obama will be able to rely on greater international support because he's a nice guy? That very possibly is as illusory and naive as Bush's putative cowboy diplomacy... and just as Bush's antics may have served to validate the claims of extremists so too they gave an out to other players who in reality didn't want responsibility for finding or shouldering solutions. Not seeing a big uptick in people wanting to help in Afghanistan are we? Truth is the Frances and Germanys et al were happy that Bush's stridency gave them an excuse to essentially opt out of the heavy lifting which they had no inclination to adopt in the first place - and the irony is Obama may be left with no choice but to become just as strident himself..."
