President Obama looks like a lame duck on the world stage as US global leadership goes AWOL

Nile Gardiner, UK Telegraph  "President Bush may not have not have won the Nobel Peace Prize and was hugely unpopular at the dictator-friendly United Nations, but he was mightily feared by America’s enemies. Many a tyrant shuddered after US tanks rolled into Baghdad and removed one of the most odious psychopaths on the face of the earth from power. Even the supposedly unbeatable al-Qaeda wilted in the face of the surge in Iraq, suffering huge losses and humiliation at the hands of US forces.

"George W. Bush believed in American exceptionalism and wasn’t afraid to show it." ....

"The Obama administration’s “smart power” approach has been anything but, and the latest aggression emanating from Pyongyang is a stark reminder that America cannot afford to be letting its guard down, and needs to stand up to its enemies rather than appease them." Via Lucianne