Monday, October 12, 2009

Krauthammer: Foreign policy a la Obama

Conservatives take note: "while many of us learn liberalism from liberals, I fear that far too many of us have learned what conservatism is from liberals as well." So says our friend at A Voice in the Wilderness.

In the coming weeks/months, A Voice in TW will offer an "explanation and defense of the [conservative] things I believe in and what led me to believe in them...my intent is to clarify the positions and underlying assumptions of conservatism that bind us, however loosely." This ought to be interesting reading & discussion for us all, & thought I'd put in a plug for it!

Meanwhile, one of the keenest conservative minds of our time has a few words about Obama foreign policy, moral leadership & American Exceptionalism:




Please listen carefully to Dr. Krauthammer's clear & measured treatment of Obama's systematic dismantling or of the "moral foundation of American dominance."

Key phrases:
American Exceptionalism: refers to the theory that the United States occupies a special niche among the nations of the world[1] in terms of its national credo, historical evolution, political and religious institutions and unique origins. The roots of the term are attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville,[2] who claimed that the then-50-year-old United States held a special place among nations, because it was a country of immigrants and the first modern democracy.

hajj: the fifth pillar of Islam is a pilgrimage to Mecca during the month of Dhu al-Hijja; at least once in a lifetime a Muslim is expected to make...

undermine: to cause weakness in a foundation, to weaken gradually

moral claim to world leadership

moral confidence any nation needs to have to justify to itself (& to others) its position of leadership.

mandate of Heaven: a philosophy, rooted in Imperial Chinese history, assumed by the evolution of American democracy, which presented itself to the world as something like a heaven-sent template for the democratic future of humankind.

So, now that the new non-exceptional, "humbled America" has abdicated world leadership, how does this 'new world' govern itself?

Odd, now that he has stripped the world of its 'governor,' we don't hear Mr. Obama posing structure & means for such governing, do we?
~~~

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Obama, and thousands of wedge-drivers before him have stripped this country of its moral compass. And it is only fitting that our children learn "about conservatism" from liberals - they RUN the compulsory education system in this country!

The trick going forward is two-pronged. First, we have to identify the liberals as the divisive, instigators they truly are. Secondly, we have to regain control over the education and training of our children.

We can better position ourselves in the "world community" if we once again embrace the exceptionalism that is uniquely American. We can't hope to do so with the liberal water-down playing such a large role in the lives of our children.

Unknown said...

Charles Krauthammer is a brillliant man, and a true American. I breathe in his every word when ever possible.

Thank you

Danny Wright said...

"Odd, now that he has stripped the world of its 'governor,' we don't hear Mr. Obama posing structure & means for such governing, do we?"

That's just it. He/they have no answers, only condemnations of the imperfections they see while resting their own positions on perfect intentions which, in the end, amount to nothing more than the air they breath.

Susannah said...

RWL ~ Sad, but unfortunately true. Re: taking control of our educational system, the Principal of MY children's school/along w/ the Spanish teacher decided that during 'hispanic awareness month' (which is apparently Oct.), they would teach all the 5th graders the PLEDGE of ALLEGIANCE in Spanish, then have them recite it each morning over the announcements. CAN YOU IMAGINE??? I'm very glad my husband & I didn't know about it, b/c we would have probably blown a gasket. However, a few parents DID know about it, made a BIG issue of it, & they rescinded their plan. Vigilance is absolutely essential.

Grandma~ "I breathe in his every word when ever possible."
Oh, me too!

Dan~ You're right - no answers, no solutions (except take from evil rich & redistribute), but plenty of condemnation.

Listen To Me said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Susannah said...

LTM~ Welcome! Haven't seen you around these parts! There's no defending done here, mostly b/c at the moment, Ms. K & I have no exchange going. We've had plenty, though. Please do see the note I left @ your blog.

Good luck & come on back any time~

Annie Fentz - Smith said...

Is anyone starting to get a little scared? After watching Glenn tonite, it ocurred to me....they don't really care, do they, that we are finding them out?

Susannah said...

Annie~
Frightened indeed. And you're right. There's no sense of "shame" on their part; no 'demuring' when they've been caught red-handed...They just keep coming w/ something the same or worse...

The Right Look said...

This guy is a genius! Loving referred to in my house as The Kraut-Sledge-Hammer, I look forward to listening and gaining insight from him on all things political.

-j-

Joe said...

President BO and his lackys are the definition of comuno/socialistic sophomorism.

Bet you always wondered what the definition of that was.

Susannah said...

TRL~ Isn't he fabulous!? So "even-keeled," as my mom would say. I could sit at his feet & listen for hours...

Joe! How'd you know? I was just looking that up this morning! :)

Shaw Kenawe said...

This report appears to undermine the accepted CW:

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – The United States is the most admired country globally thanks largely to the star power of President Barack Obama and his administration, according to a new poll.

It climbed from seventh place last year, ahead of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan which completed the top five nations in the Nation Brand Index (NBI).

"What's really remarkable is that in all my years studying national reputation, I have never seen any country experience such a dramatic change in its standing as we see for the United States for 2009," said Simon Anholt, the founder of NBI, which measured the global image of 50 countries each year.


America is back to the number one position of being the most admired country in the world.

How is this not a good thing?

What Was I Thinking? said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
What Was I Thinking? said...

Well if France is 2nd and China climbed several spots to 22nd, one has to wonder who the people were that conducted this survey.

Below is that list of Wonderful countries. Countries that I wouldn't want to visit on a bet.
* Afghanistan
* Albania
* Algeria
* Angola
* Antigua
* Argentina
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bangladesh
* Barbados
* Barbuda
* Belarus
* Belize
* Bhutan
* Bolivia
* Bosnia-Herzegovina
* Botswana
* Brazil
* Bulgaria
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cambodia
* Cameroon
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Chile
* Colombia
* Comoros Islands
* Costa Rica
* Croatia
* Cuba
* Czech Rep
* Democratic Republic of Congo
* Djibouti
* Dominica
* Dominican Republic
* East Timor
* Ecuador
* Egypt
* El Salvador
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Estonia
* Ethiopia
* Fiji Islands
* Gabon
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Grenada
* Guatemala
* Guinea-Bissau
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Hungary
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Ivory Coast
* Jamaica
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Kenya
* Kiribati
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Latvia
* Lebanon
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Lithuania
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mali
* Marshall Islands
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Mexico
* Micronesia, Fed. Sts
* Moldova
* Mongolia
* Montenegro
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Myanmar
* Namibia
* Nepal
* Nicaragua
* Niger
* Nigeria
* North Korea
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Palau
* Panama
* Papua New Guinea
* Paraguay
* People's Republic of Benin
* People's Republic of China
* People's Republic of Congo
* Peru
* Philippines
* Poland
* Republic of Cape Verde
* Republic of Georgia
* Republic of Kosovo
* Republic of Macedonia
* Republic of Yemen
* Romania
* Russia
* Rwanda
* Saint Kitts
* Saint Vincent
* Saint Lucia
* Sao Tome & Principe
* Saudi Arabia
* Senegal
* Serbia
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Slovak Rep
* South Africa
* Solomon Islands
* Somalia
* Sri-Lanka
* Sudan
* Suriname
* Swaziland
* Syria
* Tajikistan
* Tanzania
* Thailand
* Togo
* Tonga
* Trinidad & Tobago
* Tunisia
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* Uganda
* Ukraine
* Uruguay
* Uzbekistan
* Vanuatu
* Venezuela
* Vietnam
* West Samoa
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Susannah said...

"America is back to the number one position of being the most admired country in the world..."

1) Never heard of NBI. Who the h#$$ cares about "Star Power?" What is it, the POTUS? or Miss Universe??

2) I, for one, don't particularly care what other countries think of us, as long as we're doing the right thing (which usually means we're doing what those other countries - the ones who're the FIRST to turn up their noses - are NOT willing to do)

"How is this not a good thing?"

3)...when he has sold our soul to the devil (Ahmadinejad, Chavez, UN, etc.) in order to do it...dear Shaw.

(p.s. I hope you got my email.)

Susannah said...

WWIT~ Glad you came by...indeed, one does wonder @ the legitimacy/veracity of such a 'survey' if that's their tally.

Kind of like the Nobel Peace Prize...giving it to BHO is about as sincere as a Jewish Nun. BHO is so CLEARLY being used as a pawn by the "world community": to lecture the American public, slap GWB in the face (as if he cares), & try to stroke BHO's ego (which ain't hard) so that he'll be primed when they're ready to manipulate him.

The funny (or sad, depending on my mood) thing is that BHO really does think it's all about him. He's so ego blind, that he can't see he's being taken for a fool.

Okay, that's enough. Thanks again for coming by!

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA MMM!MMM!MMM! said...

Hey Mr. President, Where's Rush Limbaugh's Beer Summit?

Shaw Kenawe said...

"...giving it to BHO is about as sincere as a Jewish Nun."

Whoops. There actually WAS a Jewish nun.

Even though she converted to Catholicism, many would regard her as still Jewish, since she was born into Judaism--sort of like people who believe President Obama is a Muslim because his father was a non-practicing one, and his grandfather was one. So on those terms there actually WAS a Jewish nun, who was canonized by the Pope.

When the Nazis got word about Stein living in the convent, they took her away and put her in a concentration camp, where she died, even though she had converted to Catholicism, that wasn't good enough for the Nazis.

BTW, Susannah, I didn't get your email.

Susannah said...

SK~ Okay, okay, so my euphemism failed me...oops!

I believe, though (the facts of my simile having not been precisely, pristinely, excruciatingly correct), that the readers here are astute enough to have gotten the jist of my point.

I'll not pursue the issue of Mr. Obama's peculiar sympathies toward Islam in this forum. However, your point has been noted - with some disagreement, perhaps (what's new?) - but noted nonetheless.

I sent the email on 10-13 to the address listed in your profile. I'll try again.

ArthurRex12 said...

Shaw Kenawe WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
Have you finally gone completely batty? I always knew that you were on the verge of it, and it appears that you are now ready to be committed.

ArthurRex12 said...

Since declaring his candidacy for president in February, Obama, a member of a congregation of the United Church of Christ in Chicago, has had to address assertions that he is a Muslim or that he had received training in Islam in Indonesia, where he lived from ages 6 to 10. While his father was an atheist and his mother did not practice religion, Obama’s stepfather did occasionally attend services at a mosque there.

Despite his denials, rumors and e-mails circulating on the Internet continue to allege that Obama is a Muslim, a “Muslim plant” in a conspiracy against America, and that, if elected president, he would take the oath of office using a Koran, rather than a Bible, as did Rep. Keith Ellison , the only Muslim in Congress, when he was sworn in earlier this year.

These are people who have power in the White House now. I am truly afraid. However, I am also truly hopeful. Every time I begin to despair, I receive a reminder of the greatness of the United States, and history confirms why we deserve that greatness. Let's be that shining city on the hill again. Let's show the people of the world that, as Glenn Beck said (YES< GLENN BECK!) on his program earlier this month, "when the going gets tough, Americans show up."

Well, it's time to show up again, and we are doing it. Watch out, all those who would dare stomp on civil liberties in the name of the so-called "common good". We are not sitting idle any longer, and we are no longer silent.

I know it's been said many times over the last view months, but I feel like it must be asked again: CAN YOU HEAR US NOW!?

Susannah said...

ArthurRex~ I hear you, my friend, & thanks for coming by. Keep talking - it's vitally important!

I'm trying to get a post up about this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMe5dOgbu40

PLEASE go see this video! It is crucially important.

(For some reason, when I try to post youtube videos lately, I can't pick up the entire embed code - my 'edit' function only picks up 1/2 the code. Any ideas here??)

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