Imagine if George W. Bush were still president.
Don't gag. But ponder what might have happened at the G-20. Would Bush have arrived with the same-old agenda and urged other nations to cut taxes for individuals and corporations and to resist the calls for too much reregulation of high-flying financiers? Would he have also advocated, as his fellow Republicans in Congress are doing these days, spending cuts in order to restrain government deficits? And if so, would he have been laughed out of London?
The problem in years past was that Bush, no matter what any foreign leader thought of him, led the biggest economic and military power on the globe. So he could not be laughed off. (See Iraq). Barack Obama, on the other hand, is appreciated, not merely tolerated. And though Bush had entered office promising a certain amount of humility in foreign affairs (and then dumped that vow after 9/11), Obama actually demonstrated how such a pledge could be put into practice. During a Thursday press conference, he said:
We exercise our leadership best when we are listening, when we recognize that the world is a complicated place and that we are going to have to act in partnership with other countries, when we lead by example, when we show some element of humility and recognize that we may not always have the best answer, but we can always encourage the best answer and support the best answer.
Of course, Obama has an interest in lowering expectations. It will be tough enough for him to fix the economic problems of the United States; being responsible for the economic woes of the world would be an even heavier burden. But he's also acknowledging that in the changing world, the United States is no longer the be-all-and-end-all, that it has indeed lost some global clout. A sneeze from the United States can still turn into a cold in other parts of the planet. But America may not be able to function as the world's economic doctor. (Hey, look at our health care system.) Having tapped out all that credit created by the speculation-driven housing bubble, it no longer has the demand to fuel a global rally.
Obama also showed a measure of maturity when he conceded that the steps the United States and the G-20 nations are taking may not work. At that press conference, ABC News' Jake Tapper asked him, "Can you say with confidence that the steps the G-20 nations are taking today...will help the world, or will prevent the world to avoid a depression or a deeper recession?" And Obama replied:
In life there are no guarantees; in economics, there are no guarantees. The people who thought they could provide guarantees, many of them worked at AIG, and it didn't work out so well.
Shades of JFK.
In London, Obama worked cooperatively and collaboratively with 19 other nations to reach an agreement under which these countries will engage in more than $1 trillion in lending to spur growth and will develop tough new regulations for banks and financial firms. Sure, some of this was left vague. But this accord was better than bickering and no resolution. "We never thought we would have such an agreement," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. Obama may not be solely to credit for the agreement. But it's clear that his presence at the meeting--did you see this picture?--juiced up the proceedings, as he led the G-20 gang to a good-as-can-be-expected (if not a little better than that) deal.
So what would Bush have done? The good news is, we can only guess.
A BLOGGER WALKS INTO A BAR.... On Friday, April 3, in Washington DC, I will be one of several reporters attempting to do stand-up comedy at a benefit performance for Reporters without Borders. Details here.
You can follow my postings and appearances via Twitter by clicking here.
![[RSS]](http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/templates/images/rss_icon.gif){kind=icon}
![[ARCHIVES]](http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/templates/images/archives_icon.png){kind=icon}
Comments
Obama has done better than I expected.
Considering Bush - the bar goes very low but I think Obama is beating expectation for many on the right and left.
It is like having an adult in charge. What a change.
Posted by: capt
| April 3, 2009 12:53 PM
I listen to Obama and I am struck by his authenticity and truthfulness . . . nary a wit of affectation.
Deception and disingenuousness have been our leader's default mode for so so long. Actually, that understates our long national nightmare. We've tolerated bald-faced lieing, and some of us have even embraced it.
Listening to President Obama is like stepping into an alternate universe. Maybe someday it won't seem so extraodinary to have a leader who is honest and forthright.
Posted by: Becky
| April 3, 2009 7:29 PM
Yes, it's refreshing to have a president who displays a quiet confidence and a certain humility, rather than the false bravado of the last president.
Posted by: Antidote
| April 3, 2009 9:46 PM
What would "W" do at the G-20?
Well, the first off he would do is ask what on earth it was...
http://digg.com/d1d6XV
Posted by: lapdogs
| April 4, 2009 8:30 PM
"On Friday, April 3, in Washington DC, I will be one of several reporters attempting to do stand-up comedy...."
--Mistah Corn
Leave the humor to the pros:
"Barack Obama is taking his first overseas trip as president tomorrow. He is headed to the G20 economic summit. And he's been rehearsing his opening line to foreign leaders. 'Hi, I'm not George Bush. Hi, I'm not George Bush.'"
--Jimmy Fallon
"See, I feel confident that it'll go well, because President Obama is very good with these economic leaders. He is a very good speaker, of course, and a good speech writer. See, the problem with President Bush was when he went to the summit, any time anyone said G20, he'd go, 'Bingo!'"
--Jay Leno
"By golly, you know what it is? April Fool's Day. Happy April Fool's Day, everybody. It is crazy when you think about it. Bush has only been out of office 10 weeks and he already has his own national holiday."
--David Letterman
"Actually, this is highly unusual for the government to take this kind of action. I mean, the closest the previous administration came to getting involved in the car industry was Bush using jumper cables to jump-start Dick Cheney's heart."
--Jay Leno
"George W. Bush, who was our president before Barack Obama, recently signed a deal to write a book for $7 million. And it makes sense because when you think George W. Bush, you think book. Don't you, really?"
--David Letterman
"In the book, George W. Bush will discuss his 12 toughest decisions, like 'should I heed Al Roker's warnings about Katrina?' That would be one tough decision. 'Should I let Cheney carry a loaded shotgun?' That would be another."
--David Letterman
David Letterman's Top Ten Signs You Work For a Bad Company
10. Workday begins with a pledge of loyalty to Kim Jong Il.
9. If you haven't used your sick days, they infect you with tuberculosis.
8. They claim an excellent rating from the "Better Bidness Bureau."
7. Only office perk is the free oxygen.
6. Instead of raises, everyone is given raisins.
5. CEO recently advised employees to fake their deaths and move to Costa Rica.
4. Blew $40 billion in government bailout funds on a state-of-the-art taco bar.
3. You spend a lot of time opening for Deep Purple (sorry, that's a sign you work for the band Bad
Company).
2. Corporate logo is a handcuffed executive being put in a police cruiser.
1. Company gave George W. Bush $7 million for his memoirs
"Former President George W. Bush is now writing a book about the 12 toughest decisions that he had to make as president. He said each decision had three options -- rock, paper and scissors."
--Jay Leno
"How many watched the President's news conference last night? He got a little testy there, you know. When he was asked why he waited three days to speak out against the AIG bonuses, President Obama said he likes to know what he's talking about before he speaks. So, yet ANOTHER reversal of the Bush policies."
--Jay Leno
channeling Shrek: Thank you, thank you very much. I'm here 'til Thursday. Try the veal.
I know the Late Night business is in a comedic recession ever since Mr. 20% left office. As with the economic recession, President Obama seem's to have a Stimulus Plan for this deficit as well.
Posted by: Clint
| April 5, 2009 10:12 AM
"What Would W. Do (at the G-20)?"
"Imagine if George W. Bush were still president."
--D. Corn
Mr. 20% at the G-20? Please excuse me as I dust myself off from rolling on the floor laughing my ass off!!1!
If we roll tape, we can get a quick reminder of just how HUH LARRY US, our former leader was.
20 Cent on the international stage:
Here's a video of him at the end of a press conference. Watch him try to turn tail and run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHjIb6trxBI
And who could forget 20 Cent's performance at the G8? Angela Merkel will certainly never forget:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dfrHT8o-0A
"Don't gag."
--D. Corn
20 Cent is a walking, talking gag.
"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."
--George W. Bush, in parting words to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at his final G-8 Summit, punching the air and grinning widely as the two leaders looked on in shock, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008
"Amigo! Amigo!"
--George W. Bush, calling out to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Spanish at the G-8 Summit, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008
"I heard somebody say, 'Where's (Nelson) Mandela?' Well, Mandela's dead. Because Saddam killed all the Mandelas."
--George W. Bush, on the former South African president, who is still very much alive, Washington, D.C., Sept. 20, 2007
"Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit."
--George W. Bush, addressing Australian Prime Minister John Howard at the APEC Summit, Sept. 7, 207
"Wow! Brazil is big."
--George W. Bush, after being shown a map of Brazil by Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brasilia, Brazil, Nov. 6, 2005
"One has a stronger hand when there's more people playing your same cards."
--George W. Bush, on holding six-party talks with North Korea, Washington, D.C., Oct. 11, 2006
======+=======
That.
Was.
Our.
Preznit.
(With apologies to the rapper 50 Cent)
Posted by: Clint
| April 5, 2009 10:47 AM
lollers!
Posted by: capt
| April 5, 2009 7:15 PM
Lollers?
Gaggers!
Posted by: David B. Benson
| April 5, 2009 7:19 PM
Post A Comment