Obama believes the U.S. is (ho-hum) just another country.

• Author: Bolton, John
• Position: WORLDVIEW

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"... The ... Administration is pursuing a policy that accurately can be described as neoisolationist--a policy characterized by an unwillingness to be assertive in the world in defense of the U.S. "s interests and those of our friends and allies. "

I THINK IT IS important, now that it has been a little more than eight years since the 9/11 attacks, to take a look at our foreign policy and to judge whether we are on a path to becoming safer. In doing so, we should not be intimidated by those who say that criticism of foreign policy--criticism that suggests we am less safe as a consequence of certain policies--somehow is disloyal or hyperpartisan. It is the essence of political debate over foreign policy to judge whether the interests of the U.S. am being protected and advanced. If we believe they are not, it is our responsibility to speak out.

For almost the last year, we have had a different kind of president than in the past. Barack Obama is the first postAmerican president, and by this I do not mean he is antiAmerican. What I mean by post-American is suggested by a response the President gave to a reporter's question during a trip to Europe. The reporter asked about his unwillingness to discuss American exceptionalism--the notion that the U.S. has a unique mission, that it is "a shining city on a hill," as Ronald Reagan liked to say (echoing our pilgrim fathers). Pres. Obama responded that he believes in American exceptionalism in the same way that the British believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism. Given that there am 192 member countries in the United Nations, I am sure he could have gone on naming another 188 that believe in their own exceptionalism. In any case, the idea that all countries believe themselves to be exceptional in the same way leads to the unmistakable conclusion that none truly am exceptional. In other words, the President's response reflects his belief that the U.S. is not so different from other nations.

Pres. Obama's supporters in the mainstream media sham this view. Newsweek editor Evan Thomas, for instance, delivered this revealing comment when previewing the President's speech on the anniversary of D-Day last June: "Reagan was all about America.... Obama is 'we am above that now.' We're not just parochial, we're not just chauvinistic, we're not just provincial. We stand for something--I mean in a way Obama's standing above the country, above--above the world. He's sort of God."

This image of Pres. Obama standing above his country and above the world sums up the post-American way of thinking. The practical point it makes is that the U.S.'s interest is no different or better than any other country's interest. Yet, is that true? Is America's interest not superior to...