White House photo
Cross posted at The Next Right
Der Spiegel's evaluation of President Obama's first 100 days:
1. Communication -- First-Rate
2. Managing the Financial Crisis - Botched
“The bailout programs are not being paid for with "taxpayer money," as Obama claims. Instead, the money is coming from the savings of the frugal Japanese, Chinese and Europeans. The United States now needs $1 billion (€760 million) in foreign funds every working day just to maintain its standard of living. The country consumes more than half of all worldwide savings.
“Not only is this is costly, but it is also extremely risky. More important, it is not sustainable. By taking this approach, Obama is only leading his country more deeply into dependence on creditors from around the world. Before long, anyone who wishes to attack America will no longer need nuclear weapons, but merely sufficient dollar reserves. China already has close to $2 trillion (€1.5 trillion) stored away in its coffers.”
3. Economic Policy -- Problematic
4. Healthcare Reform -- Breaking Promises?
5. Foreign Policy -- An Embrace
“In the coming years, people will start asking themselves: What does America get in return? Is it a soft or a hard currency to be open? The answer will most likely be found in Tehran, Beijing and Moscow.”
6. Military Policy -- Contradictory
“His strategy has already bred results, but they are not what he expected. Anti-American sentiment is growing in Pakistan. Violent military action does not forge new democrats, but rather new Taliban fighters. If Pakistan, a nuclear state, falls into the hands of fundamentalists, Obama will have handed the West more than just another defeat.”
7. The CIA and Torture -- No Accountability
8. The Worst Staffing Decision [Timothy Geithner]
9. The Best Staffing Decision [VP Joe Biden! ! !]
10. The Glamour [Michelle]
Though #9 shows the, er, limitations of Der Spiegel’s good sense, their assessment is interesting in showing how top European press views the US and President Obama.
