China’s state media has been unforgiving about Mr. Obama’s political travails. “Obama always utters ‘Yes, we can,’ which led to the high expectations people had for him,” said The Global Times, an English-language website affiliated with People’s Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper, in a postelection editorial. “But he has done an insipid job, offering nearly nothing to his supporters. U.S. society has grown tired of his banality.”
The timing of the editorial, just a few days before Mr. Obama’s arrival in Beijing, was unusual. But it reflects a broader nationalist strain in China, embodied by Mr. Xi, who has consolidated his power and displayed few signs of conciliation toward Mr. Obama on thorny issues like Chinese cyberattacks on American companies.Obama is traveling to Beijing for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. We all need to be very concerned about the TPP getting greased through the newly empowered Republican Congress.
I tracked down The Global Times editorial quoted in Landler's piece through a link in a USA Today story. The complete editorial, which appeared Wednesday after the GOP rout of the Democrats, is actually balanced, as you can see below. It acknowledges the hurdles for Obama -- racism and increased partisanship -- and gives him credit for his prudence.
Nonetheless, the editorial knocks it out of the park when it says "[H]e has done an insipid job, offering nearly nothing to his supporters. U.S. society has grown tired of his banality,” or "Obama's best performance is empty rhetoric, while he achieved nothing on issues such as lowering the income gap. The American people have not benefited from the economic recovery."
Sometimes one's adversary can offer the most candid appraisal.
Midterm result will further thwart Obama
Source:Global Times Published: 2014-11-5 0:18:02
The US midterm elections kicked off Tuesday. The overall situation does not favor President Barack Obama. In the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, Democrat seats are likely to decrease. The Republicans also aim for a big change in the Senate so as to control both houses of Congress. If so, the lame-duck president will be further crippled.
US public opinion has downgraded Obama. Former president George W. Bush met with criticism due to his failure in the war on terror.Obama always utters "Yes, we can," which led to the high expectations people had for him. But he has done an insipid job, offering nearly nothing to his supporters. US society has grown tired of his banality.
Undoubtedly, Obama is one of the post-Cold War presidents who had to undergo difficult times. He has encountered the global financial crisis and the decline of US influence. He has found many thorny problems because he is the first African-American president in history. As a result, he can only get limited tolerance and acceptance.
Obama has behaved much more prudently than most of his predecessors, and has thus lacked the ability to push forward complicated issues. What's worse, Obama is in the midst of a time when partisan politics is becoming more extreme.
That party interests are placed higher than the interests of the country and its people is an inherent shortcoming of Western political systems. The problem is particularly acute when the US undergoes difficulties. Cohesion in American society is diminishing.
Obama's best performance is empty rhetoric, while he achieved nothing on issues such as lowering the income gap. The American people have not benefited from the economic recovery.
In foreign policy, Obama must also take his share of the blame. He has managed to take US troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, but left no peace. Osama Bin Laden was killed during his tenure, but the IS has emerged from the Middle East.
Moreover, the Ukrainian crisis has almost brought Europe back to the Cold War era, and his pivot to Asia strategy only increased mistrust between China and the US and among East Asian countries.
The US public used to speak highly of Obama, but now many seem to have reversed their opinions. Bush, who dared to do everything, and Obama, who dares to do nothing, come from different parties but have the same destiny. Is this their problem or the problem of the US system?
Renowned scholar Francis Fukuyama believes it is due to dysfunction in the US system. But many others do not. They believe their country only needs a new president.
With China's rise, we gradually have the ability to have a clear understanding of the US. The country is too lazy to reform. US society selected Obama, but there is no great American president in this era.
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