Leadership: President Obama says he has restored the U.S. as the most respected country in the world — a remark so at odds with facts it begs the question of whether he's lying, living in a bubble or just delusional.
Speaking before a room full of community leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the president must have flabbergasted them when he said: "The United States is the most respected country on earth."
According to a Breitbart News report, the president said he re-engaged the world and made partners based on mutual interests and respect. After that, he laid out boilerplate about ending two wars, normalizing ties with Cuba and cutting a deal with Iran.
The only problem with this narrative about winning respect is that it has no basis in reality. In fact, the very opposite is true.
Polls show that the U.S. has lost prestige and power. A February 2014 Gallup poll showed that, for the first time, a majority of Americans (53%) thought President Obama is not respected by other world leaders, against 41% who say he is, a dramatic shift. A December 2013 Pew poll showed that the public sees U.S. power declining. Some 53% said the U.S. is less important and powerful than 10 years ago, against 17% who say no.
Our own IBD/TIPP Standing In The World Index shows a steady drop among U.S. voters during the Obama years (see chart, above).
It can all be seen in the behavior of other global players.
• Two weeks ago, Saudi Arabia's King Salman and three other Arab monarchs declined to come to President Obama's Camp David summit on terrorism, sending an unspinnable message of displeasure at the president's appeasement deal with Iran.
• Before that, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endured insults through a stream of leaks from anonymous White House operatives and public dismissals of his concerns about the Iran deal. A message emerges — and not of respect.
• And "Who Lost Egypt?" Why is Egypt cozying up to Russia for arms and forming new alliances outside the U.S. umbrella?
• The same is true for trade. President Obama has completely failed to get public and congressional support for the Trans-Pacific Trade Pact. As a result, allies have begun forming their own pacts without us.
• There's also WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden's revelations. They infuriated Brazil and Germany, with Brazil's leader canceling a state dinner. And seeing America's secrets spilled never inspires respect.
In this atmosphere, is it any surprise that our opponents — Iran, Russia and China — are either thumbing their noses at treaties, as Iran is, or making their moves to seize coveted territories from others?
Whatever it is, it's a large picture showing zero respect. What drives the president to make such glaringly false statements is a mystery to us, but it doesn't portend anything good ahead. He needs a reality check.
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