Obama Is a Hit at the UN

Nile Gardiner at The Telegraph weighs in with another editorial, asking if Obama's speech to the UN was his most naive ever. He says, "It is a very strong candidate, but I think there is intense competition for that accolade. The president’s speeches in Cairo, Strasbourg and Prague would all vie for that title. Still, his address today will go down in history as one of the weakest major addresses by a US president on foreign policy in a generation, by a leader who seems embarrassed, even ashamed, by the power and greatness of his own country."

Obama's speech covered ground like denouncing Israel ("the loudest cheers from the gathering of world leaders"); the U.S. no longer condones torture ("mightily cheered"); president’s decision to rejoin the UN Human Rights Council ("greeted warmly"); and terrorists ("stony silence").

Gardiner closes with, "As Barack Obama will eventually discover, soft power will only get you so far when you have to confront and defeat brutal enemies that seek America’s destruction." I say Obama may learn it, but it will be American troops and citizens who pay with their lives for his education.

The original op-ed can be found here.

The Huffington Post, ever a cheerleader for Obama, has the text and video of his address.