Obama's Naivete on Display at the UN

Obama loves to hear himself talk, so it's no surprise that the transcript of his U.N. speech runs seven pages in the New York Times. I won't comment on every bit of the speech, but even if you skim through it, Obama's foreign policy naivete just leaps out at you. Naturally, this type of speech from any president would be filled with high-sounding nonsense, so it might appear that I'm unfairly singling out President Obama. The problem is, he actually appears to believe some of it. Let's look at some excerpts.

the time has come for the world to move in a new direction. We must embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and our work must begin now.

By this point on page one I'm already laughing.

I have outlined a comprehensive agenda to seek the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.  

Obama actually seems to believe this is possible, which is not only naive, but dangerous.

We have sought -- in word and deed -- a new era of engagement with the world. And now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.

Again, Obama sounds like he's swallowed his own ridiculous propaganda.

The world must stand together to demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise, and that treaties will be enforced. We must insist that the future does not belong to fear.

How can anyone, even Obama, keep a straight face delivering these lines? Obama could stand to read Eric Posner's article about international law.

In an era when our destiny is shared, power is no longer a zero-sum game. No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold.

And pigs will fly. I could keep excerpting the speech, there is so much more. The whole thing is a combination of laughable utopian dreaming and dangerous naivete. I just hope that I'm wrong about how much of it he actually takes seriously.

Incidentally, for one of the better articles about Obama I've seen in foreign media, be sure to check out Nile Gardiner's, The UN loves Barack Obama because he is weak.