At the U.N., leaders hope for a return of American greatness.
By Peggy Noonan
The world misses the old America, the one before the crash—the crashes—of the past dozen years.
That is the takeaway from conversations the past week in New York,
where world leaders gathered for the annual U.N. General Assembly
session. Our friends, and we have many, speak almost poignantly of the
dynamism, excellence, exuberance and leadership of the nation they had,
for so many years, judged themselves against, been inspired by,
attempted to emulate, resented.
As for those who are not America's friends, some seem still confused,
even concussed, by the new power shift. What is their exact place in
it? Will it last? Will America come roaring back? Can she? Does she have
the political will, the human capital, the old capability?
It is a world in a new kind of flux, one that doesn't know what to make of America anymore. In part because of our president.
"We want American leadership," said a member of a diplomatic
delegation of a major U.S. ally. He said it softly, as if confiding he
missed an old friend.
"In the past we have seen some America
overreach," said the prime minister of a Western democracy, in a
conversation. "Now I think we are seeing America underreach." He was
referring not only to foreign policy but to economic policies, to the
limits America has imposed on itself. He missed its old economic
dynamism, its crazy, pioneering spirit toward wealth creation—the old
belief that every American could invent something, get it to market,
make a bundle, rise.
The prime minister spoke of a great anxiety and his particular hope.
The anxiety: "The biggest risk is not political but social. Wealthy
societies with people who think wealth is a given, a birthright—they do
not understand that we are in the fight of our lives with countries and
nations set on displacing us. Wealth is earned. It is far from
being a given. It cannot be taken for granted. The recession reminded us
how quickly circumstances can change." His hope? That the things that
made America a giant—"so much entrepreneurialism and vision"—will, in
time, fully re-emerge and jolt the country from the doldrums.
The second takeaway of the week has to do with a continued decline in admiration for the American president. Barack Obama's
reputation among his fellow international players has deflated, his
stature almost collapsed. In diplomatic circles, attitudes toward his
leadership have been declining for some time, but this week you could
hear the disappointment, and something more dangerous: the sense that he
is no longer, perhaps, all that relevant. Part of this is due,
obviously, to his handling of the Syria crisis. If you draw a line and
it is crossed and then you dodge, deflect, disappear and call it
diplomacy, the world will notice, and not think better of you. Some of
it is connected to the historical moment America is in.
But some of it, surely, is just five
years of Mr. Obama. World leaders do not understand what his higher
strategic aims are, have doubts about his seriousness and judgment, and
read him as unsure and covering up his unsureness with ringing words.
A scorching assessment of the president as foreign-policy actor came
from a former senior U.S. diplomat, a low-key and sophisticated man who
spent the week at many U.N.-related functions. "World leaders are very
negative about Obama," he said. They are "disappointed, feeling he's not
really in charge. . . . The Western Europeans don't pay that much
attention to him anymore."
The diplomat was one of more than a dozen U.S. foreign-policy hands
who met this week with the new president of Iran, Hasan Rouhani. What
did he think of the American president? "He didn't mention Obama, not
once," said the former envoy, who added: "We have to accept the fact
that the president is rather insignificant at the moment, and rely on
our diplomats." John Kerry, he said, is doing a good job.
Had he ever seen an American president treated as if he were so
insignificant? "I really never have. It's unusual." What does he make of
the president's strategy: "He doesn't know what to do so he stays out
of it [and] hopes for the best." The diplomat added: "Slim hope."
This reminded me of a talk a few weeks ago, with another veteran
diplomat who often confers with leaders with whom Mr. Obama meets. I had
asked: When Obama enters a room with other leaders, is there a sense
that America has entered the room? I mentioned de Gaulle—when he was
there, France was there. When Reagan came into a room, people stood:
America just walked in. Does Mr. Obama bring that kind of mystique?
"No," he said. "It's not like that."
When the president spoke to the
General Assembly, his speech was dignified and had, at certain points, a
certain sternness of tone. But after a while, as he spoke, it took on
the flavor of re-enactment. He had impressed these men and women once.
In the cutaways on C-Span, some delegates in attendance seemed
distracted, not alert, not sitting as if they were witnessing something
important. One delegate seemed to be scrolling down on a BlackBerry, one
rifled through notes. Two officials seated behind the president as he
spoke seemed engaged in humorous banter. At the end, the applause was
polite, appropriate and brief.
The president spoke of Iran and
nuclear weapons—"we should be able to achieve a resolution" of the
question. "We are encouraged" by signs of a more moderate course. "I am
directing John Kerry to pursue this effort."
But his spokesmen had suggested the possibility of a brief meeting or
handshake between Messrs. Obama and Rouhani. When that didn't happen
there was a sense the American president had been snubbed. For all the
world to see.
Which, if you are an American, is embarrassing.
While Mr. Rouhani could not meet with
the American president, he did make time for journalists, diplomats and
businessmen brought together by the Asia Society and the Council on
Foreign Relations. Early Thursday evening in a hotel ballroom, Mr.
Rouhani spoke about U.S.-Iranian relations.
He appears to be intelligent, smooth, and he said all the right
things—"moderation and wisdom" will guide his government, "global
challenges require collective responses." He will likely prove a tough
negotiator, perhaps a particularly wily one. He is eloquent when
speaking of the "haunted" nature of some of his countrymen's memories
when they consider the past 60 years of U.S.-Iranian relations.
Well, we have that in common.
He seemed to use his eloquence to bring a certain freshness, and
therefore force, to perceived grievances. That's one negotiating tactic.
He added that we must "rise above petty politics," and focus on our
nations' common interests and concerns. He called it "counterproductive"
to view Iran as a threat; this charge is whipped up by "alarmists." He
vowed again that Iran will not develop a nuclear bomb, saying this would
be "contrary to Islamic norms."
I wondered, as he spoke, how he sized up our president. In roughly 90
minutes of a speech followed by questions, he didn't say, and nobody
thought to ask him.
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