By Steven Hill,The Guardian
Obama is being pushed around on the foreign stage
Much hope has been invested in Barack Obama’s ability to strike a new course for the US following eight years of Bush administration unpopularity. Yet many in the US and abroad are impatient with the pace of progress under the Obama administration. The president made the rounds on five news talkshows on Sunday as he pressed his policies and vision,preparing for what is likely to be a difficult week.
Besides the ongoing battle over healthcare,this week sees two showdowns between Europe and the US that will reveal further slippage in American global leadership. The first showdown comes today at a UN special session on climate change in New York City;the second will come at the end of the week at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh,where America and Europe will butt heads over financial system reforms designed to ensure that the AIGs of the world can never again cause an economic collapse.
Europe has been increasingly critical of America’s failures to live up to its global responsibilities. The US is not only the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases but is by far the largest per capita emitter of carbon and other pollutants. China comes close to the US in terms of total carbon emissions,but it has four times more people,who each belch far less individually. Europe,while having much the same high living standard,has an "ecological footprint"that is only half of America’s,since Europe has taken leadership in implementing renewable technologies and conservation practices.
When will they get it in their heads the earth is cooling,not heating.