Obama plays around with Hu ? while his foreign policy goes up in flames.

Well, here we go again. Will he bow when greeting China's head of state as he did before?

China is coming to town, in case you haven't heard.

You say, "Obama bowing before heads of state is no big deal."

We say, "Obama bowing before heads of state tells us he has no clue as to a thing called 'protocol,' and, two, if he doesn't understand the basic rules of the foreign policy game, maybe that explains why his foreign policy is such a disaster."

Look , this is a guy (the one bowing) who took two years to do nothing but watch Iran become a nuclear power and then go on vacation the very weekend Iran officially fired up one of its reactors.

You say, "Did nothing?!! There were all those sanctions he ordered" and we say, "Yeh but, he allowed more than 200 exceptions to his sanction rule -- corporations continuing to do business with Iran."

Understand that Midknight Review predicted that China, during the Obama Administration, would take down Taiwan. Of course that has not happened but China has doubled the size of its military [over the course of the past 30 years] for some reason other than becoming a military ally of the United States.

The Chinese guy, Hu, the fellow who isn't bowing, well, he is being welcomed with opened arms (and we are not talking about gun control). Prior to his arrival this week, Obama had Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke make speeches [last week] as to the importance of U.S.-Chinese cooperation, while Defense Secretary Robert Gates was doing much the same in Beijing. First time that sort of thing has happened.

Nothing sinister is being implied - only a foreign policy that is in total disarray. "We want America to feel more assured with China's presence in the world," said Shen Dingli, a professor at Fudan University, Shanghai. And why wouldn't we be? Obama sees them as our new trading partner. They make cheap junk and we buy cheap junk. Even our science is junk.

Understand that in recent months [since Obama took the throne] , China has doubled down on its alliance with Iran. It has made new agreements including offshore oil contracts with Brazil insuring a Chinese presence in that country for decades to come. It has loaned billions to Argentina and Jamaica. They have increased their trade partnerships with Peru and Chile. . . . . . all while Obama sits around and transforms the United States of America.

Point of post: there is so much that is being ignored by this Administration. While Bush didn't have a plan, Obama seems to believe that America should not continue as the world's most important force. I mean, he mocks the notion of American Exceptionalism, a change in emphasis away from that doctrine beginning with Clinton foreign policies and Madeleine Albright.

Nothing is going to change without a new president. Bowing and kissing up should not be the center of our foreign policy and, currently, it is. I know this seems to be an over-simplification of what is going on, but keep these words stored away and ask yourself, a year from now -- three years into the Obama foreign policy scene -- "what has he accomplished that was not directly due to 'kissing up.' " Certainly, he made a trade deal with South Korea. South Korea. Dependent South Korea. . . . can anyone say "Big Whop?"

He fumbled on NAFTA. He has allowed China and Russia to move into our space, in South America, without any serious effort to mitigate that reality, either as it relates to trade or military intervention. He got credit for the START treatise (nuclear proliferation) with Russia while completely ignoring China, Brazil, Pakistan and Iran on the same issues. Liberal environment policies have killed 300 million Africans (DDT vs malaria) and he has yet to step foot in Israel since his election. Remember that Cairo speech to "the Muslim World?" Whatever ever came of that "really big deal?" He made the speech and moved on. . . . . . and you call that 'foreign policy' ???? And what in the world has he done with England? Insulted them on every turn and - last week - announced that France was our most important ally. Does anyone know just how stupid this all sounds? Anyway - - - remember you read this post and watch for confirmation. I will or I will report the error of my ways.

End Notes:

1. Shen Dingli, a physicist by training, is a professor of international relations at Fudan University. He is the Executive Dean of Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies, and Director of Center for American Studies. He is also the founder and director of China's first non-government-based Program on Arms Control and Regional Security at Fudan University. Read more on this individual here.

2. This article in The Economist is a source for this post and is recommended reading for our readers. We only touched the hem of the garment (made in China, BTW).

3. Read this 2006 article detailing the Latin America changing attitude toward the U.S. It is not just Obama, folks. Bush and Clinton were pathetic when it came to policy in the Southern Hemisphere. PERMALINK