Obama's Week Abroad Had Highs and Lows

President Obama spent this last week out of the country, traveling first to Russia, then on to the G-8 Summit in Rome, and finally a stop in Ghana. His time in Moscow was well-spent and produced an important understanding on nuclear disarmament. His visit to Italy will no doubt result in some nice tourist photos but little else. In Ghana, he set out American policy on a continent too much forgotten by US politicians.

His reception in Moscow was less enthusiastic than his other trips to European nations. The reason is simple -- Russia's leaders are paranoid, and they have succeeded thus far by keeping their people nervous about the West. Not a single state TV station, for example, broadcast Mr. Obama's speech at the New Economic School. As accomplished an orator as he is, not even the president can reach the people of a nation when they can't watch him. At the same time, there is a slightly more realistic tone in Washington about Russia, and eventually, that has the capacity to defrost relations.

At the G-8 Summit, the leaders of the world's economic giants got together because they had a summit scheduled. Absolutely nothing of significance occurred. Held in an earthquake damaged town, not even the usual elegance of the surroundings measured up. There was an agreement on climate change, but the agreement largely consisted of admitting the problem exists but not on what to do about it. His visit with the Pope probably was a pleasant enough chat, but Benedict XVI isn't John Paul II. He carries less weight with US Catholics. Still, it would have been rude not to drop in as long as Mr. Obama was in the neighborhood.

In Ghana. Mr. Obama had no concrete business to conduct. Instead, he used the trip to make a symbolic move to grab attention and use that attention to enunciate his policy for sub-Saharan Africa. Seeing the first black president at the prison where countless slaves were held before being shipped off to the New World was almost surrealistic, and as the president knew they would, the media ate it up. His address to Ghana's parliament highlighted a simple truth -- Africa's future is going to be determined by Africans. They can either run their countries wisely as Ghana and Botswana have, or they can run their countries into the ground, as Mr. Mugabe has done in Zimbabwe. Imperialism is dead, and good riddance. In a decent tip of the hat, he also told Africans that the US will continue the policies of George W. Bush, whose best foreign policy moves were in Africa. Trade, medical help, and an open hand were what Mr. Bush offered, and Mr. Obama pledged to continue that.

Now, he is back in Washington, ready to tackle health care and Judge Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination. All things considered, last week was a pretty good week for the president. He's broken the ice with the Russians, and he helped shine a light on one of the few sound nations in Africa. He has a talent for making his overseas visits count. If the economy doesn't pick up, though, he may start leaving the country because he'll be more popular elsewhere.

© Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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