Exceptionally Thin
Rick Santorum's critique of Obama's foreign policy doesn't withstand scrutiny.
By John Dickerson
Slate.com
Posted Friday, April 29, 2011
Rick Santorum doesn't doubt that President Obama was born in this country, but he does doubt whether he believes in it. In a wide-ranging foreign policy speech Thursday, the likely presidential candidate argued that because Obama does not believe America plays a special role in the world, he is unfit to lead America.
Santorum's speech offered a 10-point plan for reviving American foreign policy, including protecting defense spending from cuts, support for Israel and better intelligence capabilities. At its heart though, the speech was guided by the notion that America can prosper only if its leader promotes the belief that it is a unique moral force in the world, promoting freedom and fighting evil in countries like Iran, Venezuela, and China. One of the problems with Obama, Santorum says, is that "he doesn't believe America is exceptional."
This is not a new charge. Several conservatives have made it (Mitt Romney has even reduced it to a bumper sticker: "Believe in America"). But when I talked to Santorum after his speech, however, the clear bright distinctions about ideas of freedom and America's role became less clear. As a political critique, the American exceptionalism claim is powerful. Upon examination, however, it loses much of its force.
Obama, who has spoken regularly since the early days of his campaign about the unique qualities of the American character, thinks America is exceptional. It's just that his definition of exceptional isn't the same as conservatives'. This is a legitimate debate—but it's not the same debate as whether the president believes in the idea at all.
(More here.)
By John Dickerson
Slate.com
Posted Friday, April 29, 2011
Rick Santorum doesn't doubt that President Obama was born in this country, but he does doubt whether he believes in it. In a wide-ranging foreign policy speech Thursday, the likely presidential candidate argued that because Obama does not believe America plays a special role in the world, he is unfit to lead America.
Santorum's speech offered a 10-point plan for reviving American foreign policy, including protecting defense spending from cuts, support for Israel and better intelligence capabilities. At its heart though, the speech was guided by the notion that America can prosper only if its leader promotes the belief that it is a unique moral force in the world, promoting freedom and fighting evil in countries like Iran, Venezuela, and China. One of the problems with Obama, Santorum says, is that "he doesn't believe America is exceptional."
This is not a new charge. Several conservatives have made it (Mitt Romney has even reduced it to a bumper sticker: "Believe in America"). But when I talked to Santorum after his speech, however, the clear bright distinctions about ideas of freedom and America's role became less clear. As a political critique, the American exceptionalism claim is powerful. Upon examination, however, it loses much of its force.
Obama, who has spoken regularly since the early days of his campaign about the unique qualities of the American character, thinks America is exceptional. It's just that his definition of exceptional isn't the same as conservatives'. This is a legitimate debate—but it's not the same debate as whether the president believes in the idea at all.
(More here.)
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