Obama as a President has possibly been the greatest ambassador our nation has ever seen. One of the Presidents many jobs is to go around the globe speaking with the leaders of other nations and making sure that relations and influence stays strong across the globe. Obama as well as many of his predecessors realize the advantages of being a global nation allowing him to fully address the challenge of being an emissary for the American people. But Obama has taken a step that may improve relations at home, as well as abroad with his last visit. The President recently met with Pope Francis in an attempt to strengthen the relations between the Vatican and the US, which over the last few decades has been on a steady decline due to new views in both politics and society. The President also used this time in Europe to visit and address several other American allies in the hopes to rejuvenate the weakening of United States ties. Foreign diplomacy has always been a strong suit for President Obama although his foreign action has been lacking. As a diplomat it is easy to say that the Democrats do the best on keeping the relations of the US and other nations strong while many Republican focus on the State of the Union rather than the state of the globe.
The President met with the Pope to discuss the affairs that are taking shape in Eastern Europe as well as to discuss the future of American and Papal relations based on the way that American legislation is moving in respect to gay rights, contraception, and even abortion rights. The meeting seems to have gone well ending with the presentation of gifts. The Vatican received a box made from the timber of the first Catholic church constructed in the United States while Obama was presented two medals as a symbol of Americas role as a peacekeeper throughout the world.
To read something like this in such a tough time in the world bring some weight off my shoulders. Today the media focuses to much on the negative that it becomes hard to watch the news without losing faith in humanity. But to see the President doing so well outside of our borders in an attempt to strengthen relations is a good sign for the American people. The visits the President continues to make all seem to be leading to a point in which the giant Admiral Yomomoto referred to may finally return to sleep after 60 years as the worlds policeman. This possible attempt to build strong relations would allow the United States to return to isolationism which would benefit the economy in a way that hasn't been experienced since the Roaring 20's.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/26/politics/obama-pope-meeting-politics/index.html?hpt=po_c2
Julien brings up a lot of good points with this post. True, the media does focus a lot on the negative things happening all around the world. I think that's partly why I get so sick of it sometimes. (FoxNews is probably going to be one of the things I put in on my dorm room when I'm feeling homesick next year.) Also true that, no matter how hard we tried in history, the whole 'isolationism' thing never lasted very long. I'm glad that Obama accepts that working with other countries is crucial to our success. Though Americans may be critical of him sometimes, he is a good speaker and a good leader for our country.
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