re: "The world is not high school, Mr Obama"

Pundita ("US foreign policy for the 21st Century") has some advice for our new president.

Money quote(s):

"The goal for the U.S. President is not popularity. The goal is to act in the best interests of the United States, which is the economic engine of the world. No amount of U.S. popularity will save the world if the U.S. falls.

But since the rise of the EU, every time a U.S. administration doesn't do exactly what the EU leaders want, suddenly all over Western Europe half the population turns into streets and shouts Down with the USA.

And the BBC is always on the spot to record the protests for the evening's broadcast, which is global.

Then -- and this is the part I love -- they send armies of Talking Heads to appear on U.S. TV shows, to explain to Americans what steps we can take to stem the tide of anti-Americanism sweeping the world.

Get used to it, Mr President. "

"(T)here needs to be an international, coordinated approach to dealing with the crisis, and yes we know that Europe is being hit even harder by the economic crisis than the United States.

But this 'hurry up and sign on the dotted line because the sky is falling' -- c'mon guys.

If there was ever a time for a U.S. President to invoke the raw power of America's hyperpower status, the G20 summit is it. This should be a working summit, a discussion summit, and not the place to agree to regulations that will have a profound affect on the entire world for many decades to come."

She also slips into snarkiness:

"The definition of "low-information American" is "Democrat politician." So I'll cut President Obama slack and assume he really doesn't know that if only we'd had an unforgiving and chaotic capitalism, the global economic crisis would have been over by now."

But then continues, somewhat more helpfully:

"There has been so much government intervention in financial markets here and abroad that it'll be a miracle if the world pulls out of the worst part of the economic crisis by the start of the next decade."

&

"Looking at our map of the world we see that Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom are in Europe and the EU. That means the EU Big Three are twice represented at the G20 summit, which gives them tremendous clout.

If you say, 'Hey, no fair' -- there is no 'fair' from the EU point of view when it comes to wringing concessions from a hyperpower. That's their excuse and they're sticking to it: the USA is a hyperpower and so we need to eke out a little patch of bipolarity in the world.

The EU viewpoint studiously overlooks the fact that the big bad hyperpower has made it possible for Western Europe to recover from two world wars in relative peace and raise a very powerful trading bloc that is America's biggest trade competitor."

Don't get me wrong. I love Europe and I love Europeans; but I love America just a wee bit more.