5/12/2012

From the Associated Press: "Around world, Obama's presidency a disappointment"

Obama promised so much for improving our international relations. "Obama advocates forging a dialogue with foreign publics to create a joint narrative about a shared future. . . .  Obama has suggested by example that cross-cultural knowledge can be used to understand and address societies where extremism has taken hold."  200,000 people flocked to Obama's 2008 speech in Berlin.   The AP reports that a lot of people around the world don't believe that Obama has delivered on his promises:

In Europe, where more than 200,000 people thronged a Berlin rally in 2008 to hear Barack Obama speak, there's disappointment that he hasn't kept his promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, and perceptions that he's shunting blame for the financial crisis across the Atlantic.
In Mogadishu, a former teacher wishes he had sent more economic assistance and fewer armed drones to fix Somalia's problems. And many in the Middle East wonder what became of Obama's vow, in a landmark 2009 speech at the University of Cairo, to forge a closer relationship with the Muslim world.
In a world weary of war and economic crises, and concerned about global climate change, the consensus is that Obama has not lived up to the lofty expectations that surrounded his 2008 election and Nobel Peace Prize a year later. Many in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America were also taken aback by his support for gay marriage, a taboo subject among religious conservatives.
But the Democrat still enjoys broad international support. In large part, it's because of unfavorable memories of his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, and many people would still prefer Obama over his presumptive Republican challenger Mitt Romney. . . . 

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