In defense of the president, mostly

Re “Squanderer in chief” and “Obama’s blind hubris,” Opinion, April 28

Tuesday on the Op-Ed page, James Kirchick castigates President Obama for his “obsequious behavior” and Jonah Goldberg takes him to task for his “arrogance” and “hubris.”

I never could understand the thinking of the far right. Now I’m beginning to wonder if they understand their own thinking.

In any case, Kirchick gets it wrong when he lambastes Obama for apologizing to countries around the world. The U.S. has a lot of apologizing to do for our numerous offenses under the Bush administration, including waging an unwarranted war and torture.

Obama needs to make a clear break with the blustering unilateralism of the previous administration to regain the support of other countries.

David Salahi

Laguna Niguel

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Although there are many obtuse propositions in Kirchick’s essay, his specious definition of American exceptionalism is most glaring.

Rather than the notion that the U.S. is “unique” because of “our devotion to liberty,” American exceptionalism is the idea that the U.S. does not have to live by the standards it demands of others.

To wit: The U.S. condemns the anti-democratic regime in Cuba but then thwarts democratically elected leaders in Chile, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti; the U.S. expresses outrage over Russia’s attack on Georgia while in its sixth year of an illegal war in Iraq; the U.S. threatens Iran if it attempts to acquire nuclear weapons, while it is the only nation to have used such weapons.

American exceptionalism is the notion that if we do something that would be condemned if done by others, we have a good reason for our hypocrisy. It is the idea that, despite this incongruence, the U.S. can be trusted to do the right thing. Our unsentimentalized history strongly suggests otherwise.

Tom Gorman

Monrovia

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Goldberg and Kirchick slamming Obama on the same day. Am I reading The Times or the Wall Street Journal? Who needs Fox News when you’re doing their job for them?

Louis Massouras

Los Angeles

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Is there a chance the Obama-hugging media can actually see what is going on?

The Obama administration’s direction is appallingly anti-American. The apology tour was a disgrace. The appointment of tax evaders was pathetic. The hand in the management change at General Motors was socialism in America. The unbelievable spending will result in skyrocketing taxes for years and years.

Thank you, Times, for the two down-to-earth pieces. Let’s get this Obama honeymoon over with. I’ve got to get back to work. There are taxes to pay.

Mike MacDonald

North Hills