The Rhetoric of Heroic Expectations: Establishing the Obama Presidency

Chapter 7. Resetting America’s Role in the World: President Obama’s Rhetoric of (Re)Conciliation and Partnership

cHaPTER 7 Resetting america’s Role in the World President Obama’s Rhetoric of (Re)Conciliation and Partnership jason a. edwards In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama declared that “we are ready to lead once more.”1 The president’s argument that the United States was ready to lead again implied that eight years of George W. Bush administration foreign policy had diminishedAmerica’s global leadership and role in the world. Bush administration policies such as withdrawing from the Kyoto Accords, the International Criminal Court, and the AntiBallistic Missile treaty with Russia, the creation of the Guantanamo Bay prison, the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, the rumors of forced rendition and enhanced interrogation tactics on international terrorists, and the ongoing struggles with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan directly harmed US foreign affairs.2 Bush’s foreign policy made the United States look like a lone cowboy who was out to tame the wild, wild west of international affairs.3 In turn, this foreign policy agenda was viewed by many as hubristic , dictatorial, and dangerous for world peace.4 For example, the Pew Global Attitudes Survey found only three countries—India, Tanzania, and Nigeria—out of twenty-four surveyed had confidence in the United States to lead on global issues.5 President Bush left office with global public opinion of the United States at an all time low.6 WithAmerica’s reputation in tatters, President Obama faced an incredible burden as he attempted to reset America’s role in the world. Inthischapter,IarguePresidentObamabegantoresetUS foreignpolicy by enacting a rhetoric of “democratic exceptionalism.”7 Arguments over US global leadership and its basic role in the world are structured by the precepts of American exceptionalism.8 American exceptionalism defines the United States as a unique, if not superior, nation when compared to other states.9 In foreign policy matters, exceptionalism functions to give Resetting america’s Role in the World : 131 Americans “order to their vision of the world and defining their place in it.”10 Unlike Bush,Obama’s vision of America’s foreign policy encompassed a “pragmatic version of a national mission and world leadership steeped in a democratic tradition that emphasizes global cooperation over global domination.”11 Obama’s exceptionalism was dedicated much more to cooperation, diplomacy, and egalitarianism than his predecessor. Democratic exceptionalism, like traditional American exceptionalism, declares the United States is a unique nation and leader of the free world.Where it differs is how we enact this leadership.Democratic exceptionalism emphasizes the language of “cooperation, partnership, discussion, negotiation, openness, transparency, bridging differences, respecting diversity, and promoting civil society, the rule of law, freedom of the press, and human rights.12 By pledging to listen, cooperate, and engage in more multilateral activities, the United States enhances its leadership and reinforces its exceptionalism because more countries will come to share America’s vision of a global order. President Obama’s Democratic Exceptionalism As noted above, during George W. Bush’s presidency the United States’ reputation within the world was severely damaged,hindering its ability to promote democracy, freedom, expansion of free trade, and other policies where it had been a leader since the end of World War II.For example,the US State Department issued a congressionally mandated report in which it advised that “America’s image and reputation could hardly be worse” and that as a nation it was “viewed much less as a beacon of hope than as a dangerous force to be countered.”13 Although global opinion of the United States has never been as glowing as Americans have believed it to be, the invasion of Iraq and President Bush’s unilateralist foreign policy agenda created even more hostility for the United States abroad.14 For example,the 2006 Pew Global Attitudes Project found in practically every country America’s favorable ratings had declined precipitously since the beginning of the Bush administration.15 When asked the question “Has the Iraq War made the world safer or more dangerous?” the Pew survey found overwhelmingly in every country surveyed, except for the United States, that the invasion of Iraq was viewed as making the world more “dangerous.”16 Steven Kull, the director of the Program of International Policy 132 : jasOn a. EdWaRds Attitudes, concluded from these findings that“the common theme is hypocrisy ”regarding the United States and its role in the world. The United States puts itself out as“a champion of a certain set...