It wasn’t supposed to be this way, was it? US President Barack Hussein Obama has suffered a deep decline in popularity abroad, according to an independent survey. Growing numbers of people in key countries, many of which are allies of Washington, have become uncomfortable with the dissonance between the soaring words with which ascended office and his deeds over the last three-and-a-half years.
Out of the 27 countries where reputable Pew Research conducted its recent poll, the largest drop in Obama’s standing was seen in China — from 57 to 27 per cent. The continuation of the US war on terrorism – ostensibly under the new nomenclature “Overseas Contingency Operations” – and the intensification of drone attacks on specific targets were vehemently opposed by respondents.
The German magazine Der Spiegel recently enumerated how Obama has disappointed the world. Admittedly, Europe still supports Obama economic prescription of stimulus, lending and growth, which is becoming hugely unpopular with a growing section of American voters. But the remaining good will in Europe is more than offset by the increasing opposition in large parts of Asia, Africa and South America to what they see as the continuing bullying of the US.
Deep down, Obama himself must recognize the discrepancy between the soaring vision he spelled out in his Cairo speech and his record in office. He has not honored his promises on a two-state solution in the Mideast. Guantanamo Bay continues to operate. Although he seemed to characterize Afghanistan as the ‘good war’ in contrast to the Iraq fiasco under his predecessor George W. Bush, Obama knows that Afghanistan is turning into a far costly and uncertain enterprise.
As his re-election campaign picks up steam, Obama is intensifying his attacks on George W. Bush for creating an economic mess the depths of which even today is not entirely known. Still, that approach smacks of whining and complaining. Worse, the man who assumed office amid hopes of uniting America has left it most deeply divided in a generation. The president’s campaign is unrestrained in letting out how it hopes to score an electoral victory by pitting one group of Americans against another.
Massive debts incurred to maintain an unsustainable yet expanding welfare state has intensified the division between ‘makers’ and ‘takers’. Popular disenchantment voiced through the Tea Party movement has energized the Republican Party, leading to its dominance in the House of Representatives. In response, Obama has resorted to taking controversial decision through executive fiat, the latest being on young illegal immigrants.
Obama sought to liken himself variously as a Lincoln, a Roosevelt and even a Reagan. But through his approach and tactics, the predecessor he closely evokes is Richard M. Nixon. At least Nixon is still remembered for the opening to China.
