Sunday Roundup

In Strasbourg yesterday, the president was asked about American exceptionalism. "I believe in American exceptionalism," he began, "just as I suspect the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." Leaving aside that we Greeks believe our exceptionalism to be exceptional and exceptionally old, the president's answer was masterful as he went on to talk about America's core set of values, quickly pivoting to the need to recognize "that we're not always going to be right" and "that other people may have good ideas." So basically, yes, we are exceptional -- when we live up to our exceptional values. It's going to take a while to repair America's reputation -- and thus its ability to lead in the world -- but in Europe this week, Obama made an exceptional start.

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Comments

[Stefanos Orfanos]

Fortunately, not all Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism, and I'm sure not all Americans believe in American exceptionalism either. I'm a bit disappointed cause I wanted him a sincere thinker, but if you judge him as a politician then yeah, his answer was indeed masterful; he did great.

[arkansasgirl]

Everyone needs to watch this piece by Bill Moyers where he interviews Bill Black about the financial crisis. This is the best piece on what caused the crisis, how Geithner and the Obama administration are covering up the facts, and what needs to be done to fix the problem. And I hope The Huffington Post will promote this piece so everyone will see it.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04032009/watch.html

[TotalRecall9]

Thanks for the link. It appears to be an interesting insight.

[freshnotbitter]

Arianna, I caught the tail end of Axelrod on Fox today. He was talking about troop build ups in Afghanistan and reminding us of elections there in August as a rationale for sending more troops.

Why don't we just distribute a highly simplified cell phone type device with buttons to be used for voting by pressing down, 1 for each voter, and at some appointed hour all voters would vote at once, kind of like texting votes, and the election would be over in seconds without the interference of one soldier?

Unfortunately I fear our State dept will never emerge from the post victorian age. Sometimes a country is just finished and I fear that is our fate. The bubbleheads are dragging us ever downward and Obama just doesn't seem to have the chops to fire all the incompetent has-beens and replace them with contemporary people with fresh ideas.

[Emerald1943]

Many of President Obama's picks are being held up by Rethugs. IMHO, this is disgraceful!

[apexfork]

...so all failings of the Obama Administration must necessarily be the fault of the minority party?

[pawleybrian]

Thank you Ms Huffington for adding intelligence to a morning of shameful debate. I almost gave up, having heard such drivel from many of the political pundits in reference to President Obama's week in Europe. You were the only one who gave him any credit for a remarkable success in restoring the credibility of American purpose to the Europeans. There seems to be a sinister 'wish' from many Americans that this President should fail; there is little encouragement from a large proportion of the press, even down to the fatuous insistence that Michelle Obama may have broken protocol in London. This appears as an attempt to degrade the amazing rapport that the Obamas struck with the royal family. Like the Queen, Barack Obama is a Head of State and is treated so by the Queen, as well as his wife. If Her Majesty had felt any discomfort with Mrs Obama she would not have touched her back first. As the BBC so rightly put it, the two ladies had a 'nice little cuddle'. No hint of protocol breach there and Auntie BBC would be first to recognize such. The BBC has always been a keen observer of the European mood and you can take it from them that this has been, possibly, the most successful visit by any American President to Europe. Disappointingly, there appears to be more support for America and its President from the rest of the world than from within its own borders.

[anthonyve]

Years ago, the then Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating, touched the Queen and the British and Australian press had a collective fit.
Nobody else cared then and nobody else cares now.

[freshnotbitter]

Arianna, nota bene an exceptional moment on Face the Nation

Geithner made the following amazing statement in trying to explain the dire need to capitalize banks. He said something like "just imagine that the price of your house had declined so much that you couldn't sell it when you wanted to move to another place to take a job or something, that is why it is so important that we give money to the zombie banks to keep the credit flowing".

Excuse me but I have three neighbors who married/changed jobs who could not sell their places because they would not have enough proceeds to cover their mortgage. So they are leasing and using their salary to cover the mortgage. The banks would not give them credit because the places are not appraised highly enough to warrant a further mortgage.

Why not hand a check over to my neighbor? Why hand it over to Citi or B of A based on the example he himself used?

Just imagine how Scheifer could have continued: "No need to imagine, I have three neighbors in the situation you describe, are you saying they should get a check? Why isn't it happening? If the reason it isn't happening is sound, why is it not sound to withold the same check from the banks?

We will never get to the bottom of this problem if the bubbleheads are going to let Geitner repeatedly get off the hook every time he opens his mouth.

[apexfork]

How about a better answer would be:

So what if the house is worth less than when it was bought? That's the risk you take in investing in one.

Everyone loves the upside of treating your home as an investment, but noone wants to consider the downside. You can't get the upside without the risk of the downside. That's life.

[freshnotbitter]

So AIG and B of A and Citi should all go bankrupt, is what you are saying.

That is a good point. Maybe they should. They took the risk, now tough luck.

But that is not what Geitner is saying. So you disagree with him.

[TotalRecall9]

I'm sure that if the truth about America's role in history comes to light, many will not think "America's values" are "exceptional". There were a lot of selfish, greedy, arrogant, incompetent men that ran this country over the years.

God hates pride. All the empires of the past fell. Let that be a warning.

[watchTVgetSTUPID]

Glad to see Ariana speak out on National TV. She is the only voice on Stephenopolous show that confronted the biggest problem of America ... the Banksters and their control of our government through Geithner and Summers. She was hit by 3 talking heads who tried to dominate the issue with excuses for the Banksters. One conservative even talked over her to prevent the truth from being heard about the banks.


Arianna must really be listening to us posters on HP.

[TotalRecall9]

I agree. Arianna is one of the few commentators that actually takes somewhat of a stand against Wall Street. I say somewhat because I don't like her view that executives can pay whatever they want to themselves just as long as the company makes money.

[Emerald1943]

Executive pay is the responsibility of the Boards of Directors of these companies. The government should not interfere.

However, if the company is losing money and is receiving taxpayer-funded bailouts, then I do think we have the right to over-ride their boards.

[SurrealPumpkin]

I'm all for executives of healthy companies paying themselves as much as they like as long as it is no more the 20x the average workers pay in the company. Boss gets a raise, everyone gets a raise :)

[TheBurdicks]

Like many others, I am proud he is my President. How inspiring after the disaster of the past eight years. How much better than any of the other 2008 candidates. We are blessed!
I will be more proud if he listens to Europe and looks critically at European systems. If he pursues regulation and saving more vigorously than he has pursued borrowing and spending. If he ends welfare for titans of finance and business, charged against our children's future. If uses our resources to address world poverty so poor people become consumers of our exports. If he stops committing troops to lost wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and brings all our soldiers home. If he looks to European social safety nets as models for America programs, especially universal single payer health care. If he looks to Netherland's decriminalization of drug abuse to ease the impact of American drug abuse on Mexico, Afghanistan, and Columbia. If he initiates a European style system of public transportation.
If he moves us toward a European hybrid model of regulated Capitalism with a measure of compassionate Socialism.
Yes, right wingers - Socialism!

[Emerald1943]

At long last, a REAL leader! A real statesman! If there is any hope of America's regaining some good will in this world, President Obama is the man who can accomplish that!

There are some who may disagree with his policies, but I believe you have to admit that he is doing an incredibly good job on this trip! I am so proud of him and the First Lady!

Over the past 8 years, I cringed every time Bush would go overseas, knowing that he would embarrass the country....I was never disappointed. I remember his comment (at the G-8, I believe) when he turned to another leader and said, "Well goodbye from the world's biggest polluter"!

[Dr. Sam]

Arianna, we love you--but I can't believe you said nothing at ABC's This Week when David Frumm, a White Supremacist from Canada, tried to diminish President Obama's highly successful trip to Europe and Turkey. Obama achieved much not only by restoring America's good image abroad but by even extracting promises (related to troop involvements) from European allies whose country people currently have no stomach for more wars in Afghanistan and other places. This outcome should be evaluated in light of Obama's central premise for the new Euro-American relationship--i.e., that he came to listen, learn and yes lead, but not dictate. If he got everything he wanted, then this premise has no meaning. Others in the alliance have their own priorities too, their own approaches and constraints to consider. As well, the G-20 and NATO confabs were not "pleadging conferences." Possibly, in future meetings, this issue will further be re-visited.

[jogartrago]

I believe Obama has a chance to be one of our better presidents.
He would impress me even more than he already has if he instructs the justice department of the US to bring all in the Bush/Cheney administration, including the former POTUS and his VP, to trial for war crimes.

[Emerald1943]

I agree!

[AbrahamSadegh]

It is said that we shall be judged by every word we utter.

Well, the greatest commitment millions of us make on a daily basis, especially our children attending our public schools, is the glorious Pledge of Allegiance to our beautiful Flag - One Nation, under God, with Liberty and Justice for All.

Imagine, for example, the most heinous crime as "In Cold Blood" resulting in the execution of those killing the innocent Clutter family in November of 1959.

In contrast you have someone who has been instrumental in: the loss of more than tens of thousands of human beings, tens of thousands more injured, incredible damage to the soul of our nation and the world, unimaginable loss of precious resources both in terms of time and material wasted, and he is as free as the bird and is even provided with secret service protection and a life of luxury for as long as he lives. Is this the kind of justice we are talking about in our Pledge of Allegiance?

In contrast to the two "In Cold Blood" killers, imagine someone whose reaction to 4,000 American lives lost was the monstrous reaction, "So?" He was also one of the “Principals” responsible for his boss’s un-American actions referred to in the previous paragraph. Yet, he roams free and is a highly privileged individual in our society.

Is this the kind of justice we proudly proclaim in our Pledge of Allegiance?

We need to wake up.

[apexfork]

So, you choose to value Justice, at the expense of Liberty. Perhaps Bush just sees it the other way. (Liberty does come before Justice in the Pledge of Allegiance)

The USA, under Bush's leadership, brought more Liberty more quickly to more people than ever in history. That a few people happen to escape from *your* definition of Justice is a small price to pay so that so many may be free.

Or, said another way, Freedom Isn't Free.

[numbnuts]

I have always been proud of my Country, but at times over the last 8 years I have also been embarassed by the Bush administration.
When I watch the POTUS on the world stage it reinforces my pride in my President and my Country.
God bless the USA.

[rabiddog6708]

Bu$h was exceptional......just not in a good way.

[RoseMerry]

I pray you are right. I pray never again we have to face such evil.

[bbbear]

I don't always agree with Obama, but for the first time in decades I'm feeling a bit of pride in the POTUS. However, the US need to lead is a bit tiresome.

[robert234]

Wrong word! We, like all statist-empires, are hegemonic and chauvinistic, at times jingoistic. It evolves from the false idea that a collective(aka Leviathan) "lives", is superior to the individual human being; thus it must lead the world. It's the terra firma bound authority, the equivalent of theism's celestial gods. It's billions of Prometheans chained to Kings&Gods; Presidents&Popes; Constitutions&Bibles, and so shall it be until Homo sapiens break those chains forever.

[Diogenis]

........ahh dude, you want us to be impressed? Write text books no one will read.

[dutch163]

wow

lots of good vocabulary words!!!

as I said to a student "you used a lot of really good words to say nothing"