From Baghdad to Benghazi

My take on Charles Krauthammer's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: Obama once derided G.W. Bush's views on democracy in the Middle East; now events are imposing those views on him.

Quote:

Now that revolutions are sweeping the Middle East and everyone is a convert to George W. Bush's freedom agenda, it's not just Iraq that has slid into the memory hole. Also forgotten is the once proudly proclaimed "realism" of Years One and Two of President Obama's foreign policy - the "smart power" antidote to Bush's alleged misty-eyed idealism.

My Views: I've written before bemoaning the left's attitude that all that was necessary was to denounce Bush's policies and then turn their minds off. In reading K's little essay, I wonder if Obama deserves no credit whatsoever for softening anti-American attitudes in the Middle East. Is he really sure that Obama's kind speeches and other out-reaches to the Arabs have not had anything to do with the less anti-American moods that he now detects?

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Charles Krauthammer is a more establishment columnist. He came to punditry by way of psychiatry (at Massachusetts General Hospital) via the New Republic Magazine. He appears on TV where you never see his wheelchair. Here's his Wiki bio.

I am drawn by the substance and the thinking than any particular writing flair.