Kissinger: "Obama Is Like A Chess Player"

In a long interview with Germany's Der Spiegel, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger compared President Obama to a chess player making an opening move.

SPIEGEL: Do you think it was helpful for Obama to deliver a speech to the Islamic world in Cairo? Or has he created a lot of illusions about what politics can deliver?

Kissinger: Obama is like a chess player who is playing simultaneous chess and has opened his game with an unusual opening. Now he's got to play his hand as he plays his various counterparts. We haven't gotten beyond the opening game move yet. I have no quarrel with the opening move.

Read the whole interview here.

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Comments

[Haitiana4Obama]

Kissinger is correct, President Obama is a master.

[Teutonicus]

a master of deceit! He deceived all of us by breaking or caving on most of his important promises.

[ICanHasDemocracy]

www.politifact.com He's got 300 something to go, give it time. SOmetimes you have to sacrifice a pawn to nail the Queen.

[lvdragonlady]

You lost, get over it.

[lastmanstanding99]

he's your master, I think for my self!

[lobear00]

Prove it!

[tyrdofwaitin]

The "elder statesman" Kissinger has been wrong most of his political life; his stewarship of American foreign policy during the Veitnam War was nothing short of criminal. But....on this aspect of Obama, Kissenger is spot on. Obama is a master multi-board chess player and he is at least 5 or 6 moves ahead of the rest of us.

[ClevelandTom]

I'm no fan of Kissinger but one has to give him considerable credit for the master stroke of the Cold War when opening relations with China. That move split the Soviet bloc wide open and was the key development.

[Downix]

I might not like Kissinger, but you are spot on here.

[JerryMerry]

It's a real life game. Obama as our black knight advances forward toward the white knight Medvedev who is protected by Queen Putin. Let's see what comes next. Remember it was just a few months ago that the Russians silenced Gary Kasparov one of the worlds great chess players.

[johnr49]

What do you mean "silenced" him? - please explain.

[furey]

Your friend Brzezinski certainly is, isn't he, Dr. Kissinger?

“The momentum of Asia’s economic development is already generating massive pressures for the exploration and exploitation of new sources of energy and the Central Asian region and the Caspian Sea basin are known to contain reserves of natural gas and oil that dwarf those of Kuwait, the Gulf of Mexico, or the North Sea.” - Zbigniew Brzezinski, The Grand Chessboard, p. 125

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/the-ones-who-attacked-us/

[Tubalcain]

Point blank, Kissinger is a war criminal..­no 2 ways about it.

[realpolitic]

Kissinger would know chess, but he would probably leave poison on the other team's pieces to tilt the game.

[HisPetGoat]

Obama's predecessor was like a rock, paper, scissors player.

[brummie]

LOL - The thing is though, Rock Paper Scissors (RPS) actually has some strategy to it. RPS may have been too complex for Bush.

Advanced RPS
http://worldrps.com/advanced.html

The secret to winning at rock, paper, scissors
http://telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/sciencenews/3319456/The-secret-to-winning-at-rock-paper-scissors.html

[otispfudpucker]

Actually Bush couldnt even play marbles.

[ruddie]

Nothing beats rock.

[rbndc]

Yes, a guy who consistently ended up choosing "rock" over and over and over, regardless of the outcome.

[iceage7]

Honestly..­Obama gets better by the day. i dont see anyone beating him come 2012.

[WorkingClass]

Kissinger is a monster. He should be denied food.

[lastmanstanding99]

I don't think satan eats

[S1m0n]

Let's hope MacNamara is keeping a seat warm for Henry.

[John Horner]

It would be interesting to know if Kissinger voted for Obama or McCain. Judging by the interview, I would bet he voted for Obama.

[IMPerfectlyCalm]

I was curious too, so I checked...

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,535964,00.html

[JerryMerry]

Want to answer you but can not view your link. Have I been censored again?

[IMPerfectlyCalm]

Sorry, that last link got dropped: Hope this one works.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,535964,00.html

[JerryMerry]

Nope the second one didn't work either, but I live outside the USA

[ohmetoo]

And SP plays tittily winks!

[Freesia2]

Sarah Palin gazes at her navel lint. She's still trying to master the strategy.

[texanindubai]

She would confused playing checkers

[devanate]

Master? She's still trying to figure out the definition of the word "strategy".

[october2009]

Henry Kissinger is a sick individual.

He's a twisted eugenicist who believes in playing god with population control.

Here's the link to his National Security population control study:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6474391/Henry-Kissinger-Population-Control-Document

The man's ideas are clearly dangerous to the human species.

I can't believe Obama has him as one of his advisers..­. Scary.

[duxguts]

Sick individual? Never!!
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for dropping bombs on innocent farmers in Cambodia and Laos.

[globalcitizenlinda]

Before this comment was made by Kissinger, those who know President Obama best say that actual this is the method by which BO operates -like a chess player, he is very methodical

I know chess was used as a metaphor but does any one out there remember that in his regular life, President Obama is an avid chess-player?? According to the information I learned during the primary, then-state-senator Obama polished up his chess skills as a way to 'break the ice" with the IL state republican legislators and more experienced Democrats and also as a way to gain consesus on critical issues - so stay tuned

[jeg]

... and poker. Don't forget poker.

[calirighty]

I hope he plays better chess than he does helping homeowners.

[flossophy]

Same old Kissinger.­.. playing both sides so eloquently.

I still love him though.