THEY ONLY THINK IT'S A UNICORN...:

President procrastinator (Daniel Dombey, September 7 2009, Financial Times)

On issue after issue, the president has announced a new strategy or approach – but has avoided making the actual decisions that flow from those. Retired Gen Anthony Zinni, former head of US Central Command, says he cannot think of one big strategic decision Mr Obama has made. He adds that the administration needs a proclaimed national security strategy establishing what it stands for and how it intends to use American power.

Certainly, Mr Obama has made a huge impact on the world stage. His election campaign, with its vast crowds and promises of diplomatic engagement; his victory, with all the symbolism of becoming the first African-American president; and his inaugural speech promising a break with the era of George W. Bush, all had global resonance.

As president he has also embarked on two foreign policy drives that contrast with the last administration – to improve relations with Russia and to put pressure on Israel over settlements on occupied land. He has given speeches – notably his Cairo address to the Islamic world – that Mr Bush would never have made. But on a cluster of core issues, Mr Obama has not broken with the approach of the Bush administration’s last years, so bringing about continuity by default.

...he's actually riding a pushmi-pullyu...

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 8, 2009 7:20 AM