Obama needs deeds, not just pretty words
- Source: Global Times
- [23:34 November 08 2009]
- Comments
By Tian Wei
When one thinks about how much work US President Barack Obama has these days, one can appreciate the trouble he's going to have in making his upcoming trip to Asia.
Economically, US unemployment just broke into double digits with 10.2 percent of the American labor force now without a job.
Economists are talking about a "jobless recovery." You can imagine how dangerous that is for the fate of any politician. Politically, though the House of Representatives just passed the healthcare plan, it still has to be debated in the Senate. It may fail there, and is already bogging down so many other issues the administration tried to push forward.
Exhausted on the issue, Obama apparently did not even have strength to go after his opponents anymore when making his final, pre-vote plea for the plan in his Rose Garden recently, but only relied on rhetoric for the bigger cause, calling on Congress to "choose a better future for generations of Americans".
As if those troubles were not enough, Republicans in the US have already taken concrete steps toward recovery with gubernatorial victories in Virginia and New Jersey. Their morale has been boosted after united e. orts to oppose almost all key issues put forward by the White House.
Of course, there are other challenges facing Obama, such as whether to commit more troops to Afghanistan, or, with Copenhagen only three weeks away, the looming issue of climate change.
Obama deserves enormous credit for making the political choice to take the time to do his Asia trip. He is not like his predecessor Bill Clinton, who skipped two Asian summits because of domestic political challenges.
Obviously, Obama is not coming to Asia to show off American strength this time, as her weaknesses are currently much more apparent. Rather he seems to believe it is essential to restore American leadership and solve the problems by involving others in the process as well.
With this trip to Asia, Obama will have visited 20 countries in his first year in oª ce, the most of any US president in history. This is certainly a great record by itself. But what is more important is not just his sincerity but also his credibility.
