President Obama: The one-year review

Posted By Peter Feaver Wednesday, November 4, 2009 - 8:09 PM Share

It seems that no one can resist the temptation to opine on the one-year anniversary of President Obama's election. Shadow Government is no exception. In coming posts, Shadow Gov bloggers will answer any or all of four key questions:

What, if anything, has surprised about Obama's foreign policy since the election?

What one thing should be singled out for praise?

What one thing should be singled out for constructive criticism?

What prediction, if any, about where we might be 1 year from now?

In blogoyears, it has seemed like a lifetime since President Obama culminated his historic campaign with a decisive victory. But in reality, it was only a year ago. Imagine a latter-day Rip Van Winkle who went to sleep hung-over from the election night festivities and waking up to reality today. What would strike him about President Obama's foreign policy? Here are our answers...

PETER MUHLY/AFP/Getty Images

EXPLORE:PRESIDENT OBAMA: THE ONE-YEAR REVIEW, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

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WILDTHING

7:32 PM ET

November 3, 2009

appeasement

Funny thing all that time Britain spent appeasing they were frantically preparing for war so probably appeasement is own interpretation for our own consumption hardly anything real except in theory!

Obama is learning the ropes but if he doesn't learn soon that the US bubble is going to pop if we don't realize this is the New World Century not our New American Century of world dominance then we are in for serious trouble as we approach total collapse. This is the century of world interdependence and learning to live within the means of our planet not our races race to extinction everyone seems to want!

BERNARD Y

5:31 AM ET

November 4, 2009

Well, where is the change?

Well, where is the change? What happen on his plans? A big failure! The country is so strange. Cookie Johnson jeans, or CJ jeans, is a company launched by Cookie Johnson, wife of Magic Johnson, that sells high end designer denim to real women – i.e., those with a little more curve. The pants are carried at Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and Neiman Marcus. She launched the clothing line with Michael Glasser. Johnson wanted to create denim that caters to women who are "fit, but curvy" and the Oprah bump is going to move a lot of denim. That said, Cookie Johnson Jeans are a bit expensive, so you might need a payday loan for a pair.

COURTNEYME109

6:36 PM ET

November 5, 2009

critique

What one thing should be singled out for constructive criticism?

The amazing lack of democracy promotion

MICHAEL C

1:57 PM ET

November 6, 2009

The biggest surprise

I am looking forward to this new series. I will say that the biggest surprise is clear, that President Obama already won the Noble Prize. Whether he would over time probably wasn't much in doubt. Just by not being President Bush and even a slow withdrawal from Iraq would count as peace to Copenhagen. But winning it in his first year with relatively little foreign policy to speak of? Surprising.

Michael C

Shadow Government is a blog about U.S. foreign policy under the Obama administration, written by experienced policy makers from the loyal opposition and curated by Peter D. Feaver and William Inboden.