A "Foreign" Policy, Indeed

Wait a minute, wait a minute. First it was considered provocative to allude to Obama’s Muslim antecedents. Now we hear that this "committed Christian" is proud of his Muslim roots. And on top of that, our president announces that the U.S. is one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.

This is, frankly, the transparency of the kaleidoscope; you can see the image clearly enough, but it changes constantly. And yet, in a strange sort of way, one detects a remarkable consistency. The importance and the interpretation Obama attaches to various aspects of his persona change in accordance with the needs of the Permanent Campaign. Having made himself all things to all people during the election, he is now, chameleon-like, altering his image in order to make it attractive to what he perceives to be an important segment of his international constituency.

And herein lies the problem. Obama has, by most accounts, done more to disparage, if not dismantle, the idea of American exceptionalism than any other president in history. He seems bound and determined to rid the world of American dominance, which stems largely from our military strength, but more importantly, if not as self-evidently, from our commitment to individual freedom, capitalism and the rule of law.

Obama’s intellectual detachment from the traditions and history of his own country dovetails perfectly with the ongoing “apology tour”, and explains how a man possessing such a large ego in conjunction with only trace amounts of humility could bring himself to be so vocal in criticizing the nation over which he presides and which he presumably considers his homeland. You see, he is apologizing for us, not for himself, rather in the manner of a successful and ambitious young corporate climber who is embarrassed by the extravagant behavior of an eccentric old uncle – to whom, he will be quick to tell you, he is related through no fault of his own.

When I say that Obama is reaching out to a large group of his international constituents, I am not suggesting that he is running for caliph, but that he is attempting to replace the traditional concept of national interest, and the means of protecting that interest, with a vision of global comity based almost exclusively on the transformative capacity of his personal intentions, his charisma, and his collegial rhetoric. Doubtless there are many – including, naturally, the chief architect - who will consider this a viable approach.

And there are others, among whom I number myself, who believe that this is a level of hubris, ignorance and stupidity that is likely to wind up making Jimmy Carter look like a second Talleyrand.