Hmmn... I see Obama has slapped some significant cyber espionage charges on Chinese military hackers - all very symbolic I suppose since no way you're ever gonna get near these guys but... an interesting and somewhat unexpected development all the same. Is this Obama starting to realize that the world increasingly does not take him seriously as a 'strong' leader when it comes to US interests and trying to reverse or mitigate the debilitating effects of that image? If so, is this then just more empty gesturing from him, shallow optics? Dunno - curious to see how this plays out and what China's response will be - the thing about weak leaders trying to look strong is that the people you're looking to impress have already formed their opinion about you and therefore may simply ignore the gesture, which puts you in the possibly somewhat difficult position of a 'so what now' moment - or they may see the challenge as an opportunity to prove your weakness by calling your bluff and upping the ante - in such a way perceived weakness invites escalation. To my mind Obama has fully earned his reputation as a weak leader and simply doesn't have it in him to behave otherwise, possibly because of an ideological predisposition that clings to a worldview that judges such crudities as being beneath him - possibly because he views traditional notions of American power as a utility of increasing irrelevance or simply as something not worth preserving - whatever it is, if China has come to the same conclusion, they indeed may treat this as an opportunity to play some hard ball.
