Obama Began His Presidency With an Apology Tour

I thank my partner for his submission. State Apologies must be explicit The Statements in question are not "apologies" but policy change announcements, criticisms of European anti-Americanism, and Muslim extremism Such policy change announcements are common Foreign Press did not view these statements as apologies In a recent debate, Governor Mitt Romney leveled a claim against President Obama, accusing him of having embarked upon an “apology tour,” where the President had presumably apologized for American greatness. The Governor was referring to an article written by Karl Rove, titled, “Obama’s Apology Tour,” [1] which had become a meme in the right wing blogosphere, even being picked up by the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Romney had gone so far as to have his book titled “No Apologies,” in a nod to this meme. This viral rumor had now penetrated into the prestigious presidential debates, and from there has begun to be challenged by those journalists and citizens who are not beholden to conservative talking points. Predictably, the legend of Obama’s shameful contrition was somewhat … one sided … as reported by such journalistic bastions as the Drudge Report and Sean Hannity. The “apology tour,” as reported by the originators of the viral rumor, contains no formal apologies – not one – and was not even a “tour.” The origins of the rumor (America has shown arrogance) Even before the now infamous Karl Rove article, “Obama’s Apology Tour” was first published in April of 2009, the Fox News website was already expressing outrage at an Obama speech that was critical of French anti-Americanism – by characterizing the criticism as an apology for America. The website featured a front page banner, trumpeting, “America Has Shown Arrogance.” The story linked to an April 3 article published in the UK Telegraph, which reported on the President’s speech in Strasbourg, France… Fox News had heavily edited the article to say the least. The original Telegraph article stated that President Obama "balanced this striking admission with a tough message to Europeans that blaming America was foolish." The UK article went on to quote Obama saying: "But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual, but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what's bad." Europeans, it turns out, did not feel “apologized to.” [1] Ignoring this, the Fox Nation website then began repeating the accusation, characterizing almost any foreign policy change as an “apology” for the previous policies. Karl Rove lent his authority to the growing meme, culminating in a Wall Street Journal Article and the book and debate mention by Mitt Romney. The Tour The “Apology Tour,” according to its creators, occurred in a series of policy announcements made in the opening months of Obama's first term. Sharp readers may note that no complete examples of any “apologies” were provided by my partner in his presentation. (The video clip is obviously heavily edited, and out of context) I will provide the examples, therefore: In the seven speeches that Romney labels as apologies in his book, the President is seen acknowledging challenges that America has overcome, policy changes that his administration is announcing, and other statements of fact. However, these are universally connected to admiration of American principles, and criticisms of the host nations that he is addressing. [2] Politifact lists the speeches in question, and quotes them in their original context. [3] At the United Nations: I took office at a time when many around the world had come to view America with skepticism and distrust. Part of this was due to misperceptions and misinformation about my country. Part of this was due to opposition to specific policies, and a belief that on certain critical issues, America has acted unilaterally, without regard for the interests of others. And this has fed an almost reflexive anti-Americanism, which too often has served as an excuse for collective inaction. In Cairo: The attacks of September 11, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. All this has bred more fear and more mistrust.[4] I wish that I had space to list all of these “apologies” in their full context. Since these are the three that feature most prominently, I have listed them only – the remaining statements are all fully accessible in my citations, which I have clearly labeled. Perhaps I will paste them into the comments section, for easier reference. As readers study these speeches, one thing will quickly become apparent: there are no statements that can even be called “apologetic.” I am aware that my partner believes that implied apologies are identical to explicit apologies – but they are not. The following logic is given in the Politifact article: Conciliatory language is not identical with an apology: “Neither of us are perfect, let’s just move forward” Admission of wrongdoing is not identical with an apology: “I smashed your car because you drive like an idiot.” (Saddam Hussein can say that he invaded Kuwait, and this would not necessarily be an apology.) Humility is not identical with apology: “sorry to bother you on your day off, but I need you to finish these reports.” Changing policy is not identical with an apology: “From now on, we will be doing things differently around here” – this one in particular seems to be important to this debate. [3] "Only the unexpected is news"My partner made one claim that was not answered so far in my presentation. That is, he asserts that if the Obama policy change announcements (misrepresented as “apologies”) made it into the right wing blogs, then it must have been unusual. It wasn’t. Every American President has issued such policy changes and frank language upon taking office, including President Bush - also in Cairo: “We will reject the kinds of comments you have seen recently where people in this country say that Muslims are responsible for the killing of all Jews and who put out hatred. This kind of hatred must be rejected … This kind of language must be spoken out against. We cannot allow this image to go forth of America.” [5]Clearly, we could easily create similar "apology tour" narratives for Lincoln, Washington, FDR, or any other president. Therefore, my argument as of this round is: When the president tells an audience that “we will not torture,” this is a statement of intent – not an apology. The characterization of “apology” was developed only as a way to discredit and undermine American diplomacy under President Obama. This is demonstrated by the intentional way that these statements were taken out of their context and misrepresented. In two notable examples, the “apologies” were actually criticisms of Muslim extremism and Anti-Americanism in Europe. As my partner points out, at no time did the president explicitly apologize or express regret – a necessary component of what should constitute a formal state apology. My partner did not present any actual examples of unambiguous "apologies" during this time period - because none exist. [1] French Address: http://www.whitehouse.gov... [2] Politifact “Pants on Fire” Ruling Explained http://www.politifact.com... [3] Politifact “apologies” in context: http://www.politifact.com... [4] Cairo Speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov...[5] Bush Remarks in Cairo: http://www.salon.com...