EUbama speaks

[Gob]

The UK must stay in the European Union to continue to have influence on the world stage, US President Barack Obama has told the BBC.

He said the UK's EU membership "gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union".

Speaking to the BBC's North America editor Jon Sopel, he said the EU "made the world safer and more prosperous".

He also admitted that the failure to pass "common sense gun safety laws" in the US was his biggest frustration.

Mr Obama said the UK was America's "best partner" because of its willingness to project power beyond its "immediate self-interests to make this a more orderly, safer world".

He said British Prime Minister David Cameron had been an outstanding partner and congratulated his government for meeting the Nato target of spending 2% of GDP on defence.

President Obama was speaking to the BBC at the White House before departing for Kenya, where he begins a short tour of Africa.

With just 18 months left in power, he said the area he has been "most frustrated and most stymied" in was gun control "even in the face of repeated mass killings".

"If you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it's less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it's in the tens of thousands," Mr Obama said.
"For us not to be able to resolve that issue has been something that is distressing," he added.

[rubato]

Holy creeping Jeezuz. The UK are like a spineless 8-year old threatening to run away from home.

Uk (spineless 8-year old) "I'm leaving, I am, really!"

EU (mom) Well ok dear just let me pack a lunch for you.

Uk (spineless 8-year old) " I mean it!"

EU (mom) "just don't forget to brush your teeth and change your underwear"

Uk (spineless 8-year old) "Right now!"

EU (mom) "That's fine dear, don't forget your asthma inhaler"

Just grow a set of balls and get out. We're sick of your whining but pussying out all the time.

Go.


yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

Yes, rubato, well said, I'm sure the mouse in your pocket is paying full attention.

[Gob]

Now, venturing away from the childish imbecility of Aspergers boy's fantasy, what is the actual strength of feeling in the UK?

A majority of the electorate would vote for the UK to leave the European Union, according to a new Opinium/Observer poll.

When asked how they would vote in a referendum on membership, 51% said they would opt to leave compared to 49% who would vote to stay in.

The polling found that 41% believed that the EU is generally a good thing for the UK, while a third (34%) said it is generally a bad thing.

David Cameron has promised that a Tory government would offer the British people a referendum by 2017. Ed Miliband has said that such a vote would only happen under Labour if there was a major treaty change.

According to the new polling, 29% said they most trust the Conservatives to handle the UK’s relationship with the rest of the EU, while 23% said they most trust Labour and 13% said they trusted Ukip.

One in ten (11%) said they trusted none of the parties to handle the UK’s relationship with the rest of the EU.

[wesw]

just do what Obama tells you or al Sharpton will be coming.....

[MajGenl.Meade]

"He looks a bit like a Paki to me"
- N. Farage, IV B

[Lord Jim]

He said the UK's EU membership "gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union".

What a bunch of malarkey...

The strength of the US/UK relationship is in no way shape or form dependent on British membership in the EU...

Where does he get these kinds of ideas?

Obama has had a poor understanding of the US/UK relationship his entire Presidency. At the very beginning he tried to downgrade and minimize it, and then later he found himself as the first US President in modern history to be rebuffed in a request for military support.

[Long Run]

Obama has had a poor understanding of the US/UK relationship his entire Presidency.

Ditto that for just about every other country in the world, especially our friends and allies.

The above quote is a perfect example of the condescending, professorial, lecturing Obama, sounding authoritative while being devoid of any real understanding or discernment. You might say he is an empty suit, except he is clever and manipulative enough to get his ill-thought policies implemented.

[Crackpot]

And yet the general view of the U.S. has improved over the world during his presidency....

[Gob]

Look who he was following though.

[Crackpot]

And how many of the current crop of replacements look to be better?

[wesw]

vote john Kasich!!!!!

[Crackpot]

I wasn't talking to you.

[Long Run]

And yet the general view of the U.S. has improved over the world during his presidency....

Look who he was following though.

And how many of the current crop of replacements look to be better?

There are different ways to measure this. We are generally better thought of or liked now than when W was president, based the various multi-country polling (Pew and Gallup do these regularly). However, if you go to the key countries, our allies and our rivals, and ask the probing questions from their leaders of how much can you count on us, and how much respect they have that the U.S. will honor its commitments, and the answer will is different and not flattering of the generally likeable current POTUS. This is why Americans feel that the country is on a downward trajectory as a power and influential force in the world. Really, it comes down to whether we want to be liked or respected, they don't necessarily follow the same trend line.

We won't know which of the potential replacements will be better until there is more culling. Take out the non-candidate billionaire who is stroking his ego, and you can see that a majority have a good chance at being a more reliable and stronger leader. In fact, looking at the replacements highlights why being liked is not what we should be looking for: no doubt, Rand Paul would be the most liked among the candidates because he is the most modest about U.S. international activity and the most passive about U.S. interjecting itself to solve problems. This plays to the populists in many countries, but this is not what the world really wants or needs.

[wesw]

don t confuse the issue with depth of thought......

[Crackpot]

long run

Mind you I am talking strictly foreign perception here. Both Paul and Saunders would fail miserably there (thoug Saunders socialist clout might gain him some cred) walker and bush have been repeatedly sticking thier feet in their mouths on the foreign policy front Cruz is an idiot. Fiorina and Carson Jindall and o'malley don't even rate. with few possible exceptions the Rest of the republicans aren't likely to go over very well (the same could be said for Clinton). Witch leaves a couple of democrats which as of yet have not shown enough charisma to generate as much as a collective "Meh" from the rest of the world.

[Crackpot]

Contrary to our resident republicans belief Obama hasn't been as dismal of a failure re: foreign policy as the make it out he's been much more a mixed bag. He's got the talking game down. Although they weren't the sexiest of solutions Egypt and Libya were foreign policy successes. Ukraine although not how I'd like to see it currently is far to complex and far too fluid to call one way or another and probably won't be until years after his presidency is over. Syria OTOH is such a royal pooch screw that Bo now flees him in terror.

[Long Run]

Every president has a mixed bag on foreign (as well as domestic) policy. Russian reset and Ukraine, perception is failure. Egypt and Libya are not successes. Syria, you are right, is a mess. The rise of ISIS is a failure, as is the losing of the Iraq peace. The Iran deal is very unpopular and unsupported by our allies, and is only tepidly supported by his own party, so that is a fail at this point. We have very little influence with China, so that is a fail. Border security has been problematic leading to numerous problems. Obama is not 100% to blame for any of these, but he bears a part, small or large, for each of these bad results, and it is easy to imagine many of the serious candidates* doing a better job.

*Clinton, Kasich, Graham, Rubio, Bush, Walker, Christie, they will be fine even if they aren't all the way there yet. Sanders, Ego Billionaire, Fiorina, Carson, Huckabee, Santorum aren't really serious candidates, they are in it for some other reason as they have no virtually no chance in an actual election (though a couple can certainly poll some protest nods), so why even bother worrying about their views.. Still not sure about Perry, but don't like Cruz, Jindal or Paul, each of whom has a measurable chance of becoming a serious candidate.

[Lord Jim]

However, if you go to the key countries, our allies and our rivals, and ask the probing questions from their leaders of how much can you count on us, and how much respect they have that the U.S. will honor its commitments, and the answer will is different and not flattering of the generally likeable current POTUS

Absolutely; huzzah

The United States is best "liked" by many people in the world when we are completely ineffectual, and sitting around with our collective thumbs up our collective asses...

That's the way a lot of rank and file people around the globe like to see the US behaving...

But as Long Run has correctly pointed out, that does not bring respect from our allies or our adversaries...

The Obama Administration is probably the best "liked" Administration by that yardstick since Jimmy Carter...

That ain't a a compliment...