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Nothing Noble About Nobel (Paul Johnson, Forbes)

What is hard to understand about President Obama is how he sees the U.S. as an ideal and as a reality. The best American Presidents, from George Washington to Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, always saw America as an exceptional nation. To them it was the ideal nation, high-minded, prudent, democratic and benevolent, sometimes falling short in performance but always eager to be a force for good. Is this how this President sees it?

Mr. Obama ought to be measured against salient declarations of his great predecessors. Washington, for instance, in his Farewell Address, advised: "As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit." Is this Obama's view? Lincoln, in his Second Inaugural Address, insisted: "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right." Are those Obama's sentiments? Theodore Roosevelt said: "There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism." Does Obama agree? Ronald Reagan said: "One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man." Does Obama think the same? If so, let his agreement be reflected not in speeches but in actions.

Although I detect increasing signs of hostility toward President Obama--especially among those Europeans who have been conspicuous for their loyalty to Nato and the American alliance, as well as for their personal regard for the U.S. and its values--I do not regard Mr. Obama as a failure, yet. But I wish he would refrain from high-sounding speechmaking for a time and concentrate upon the specific task of practicing statesmanship. He needs to be personally associated with a concrete proposal that is pushed through to completion, that works and is seen to work, and that benefits a wide range of ordinary people.

Otherwise, President Obama is in danger of drowning in a sea of words.