Secretary of State Clinton went to Russia to discuss the
possibility of putting sanctions on Iran. The Russians pushed back hard and publicly. The
State Department weakly responded that they hadn't come to Moscow looking for anything
in the first place.
The Iranians taunt us with their open nuclear ambitions and
we don't have much to credibly offer in the way of sanctions (see above) and so
we find ourselves grasping at straws in terms of an international dialogue with
them. We are forced to take proven liars at their word because there is no
realistic Plan B.
The North Koreans do as the Iranians do. They taunt knowing
there will be no meaningful retaliation, especially if they dangle the
possibility of progress with negotiations even as they flaunt the spirit of
those negotiations.
Our ally in Afghanistan bald-facedly steals an election
because he knows he has us over a barrel, believing we need him more than he
needs us and that in any event, we won't punish him for his indiscretions. Our
reaction is grumbling and strong language and planning for him to remain in his
misappropriated office.
On Afghan policy there is an all-in, all-out debate and it
increasingly looks like the president will split the difference between both
sides. David Ignatius writes
in today's Washington Post:
Obama's deliberative pace is either heartening or maddening, depending on your perspective. Personally, I think he's wise to take his time on an issue in which it's so hard to know the right answer. But I worry that the White House approach will soften the edges so much that the policy itself will be fuzzy and doomed to failure.
On the Hill, again the difference is split on health care
and the Baucus plan backed by the administration doesn't meaningfully address
the core concerns that triggered the debate about health care reform in the
first place -- issues like universal coverage or the need to substantially
reduce health care spending or the need to get the books to balance.
During the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, at a lunch as the
meeting drew to a close, the Chinese walked in and demanded that a paragraph in
the final statement on climate change be cut. Everyone in the room was
gobsmacked and stopped eating while the Chinese representative blithely
consumed his lunch. One of those present asked, "Where were the Americans? Why
was there no pushback? The Europeans were furious."
Peter Feaver wrote for FP an article
chiding Hillary Clinton for not having taken a bold stance, making an issue her
own thus far. Quite apart from the fact that I think his analysis was faulty,
the reality is that the tough stances come from above, the president is the one
who draws the lines in the sand. As far as decisive administration's policies
are concerned, the title of her book on the subject might read, It Takes a President.
Right now, even his strongest supporters -- and I count
myself among them -- are worried that much as Abe Lincoln was the great rail
splitter, Barack Obama may become known as the great difference splitter. A
former senior official, active on the president's campaign sat in my office
just yesterday worrying aloud about whether this is just learning curve
behavior or whether we are drifting toward Jimmy II. There is a place for deliberation
and compromise in the quivers of wise leaders, he argued, but there is also a
need to be decisive and sometimes to push to fulfill a vision or defend an
ideal or an interest.
There are real merits to being the no-drama Obama of
campaign fame. But in a world in which the Chinese or the Iranians or the North
Koreans or Republicans or wings of the Democratic Party are inclined to push as
hard as they can until they meet real resistance, it's fast coming time for the
president to show he is willing to lose some friends and even some battles to
defend his principles or the national interest. It can be a fist of steel in a
velvet glove, resolve born of reflection, but there are a lot of supporters of
Obama worry that he is a man who sending a message that there are no
consequences for crossing him. On Afghanistan, on health care reconciliation,
on his upcoming trip to China, on climate, there are chances looming for him to
show that he knows what he wants and that he is willing to fight for it. I'm
hopeful this is the moment he really will start to come into his own as president.
It was recently reported that Obama's favorite phrase is
"Let me be clear." I think the response to that of his concerned supporters
would be, "Please do." It's the path that is most likely to have them once
again singing, "Mild thing, I think I
love you."
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
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