So this is how you get the US more respect globally?

[VinnieKulick]

A massive volcanic plume covering most of Europe forced President Obama to cancel a Sunday trip to Poland to attend the funeral of the nation's president. But the last-minute change left an opening in his schedule, so the president headed to the links for a round of golf instead.

On a cool but sun-drenched Sunday, the president and three golfing companions went to Andrews Air Force Base to play 18 holes. It is the 32nd time Mr. Obama has played golf since taking office Jan. 20, 2009, according to CBS Radio's Mark Knoller.

After canceling the Poland trip on Saturday, the White House announced that Mr. Obama had no public schedule for Sunday. He was to have arrived in Krakow in the morning, attend the 2 p.m. funeral and leave for home by 5 p.m., arriving back at the White House after midnight.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, along with dozens of top Polish government officials were killed April 10 when their airplane went down in heavy fog after clipping a tree on approach to Smolensk, Russia.

Mr. Obama has not gone to the Polish Embassy in Washington since the accident, but Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. both have. There, they signed a condolence book.

Mr. Obama was not the only world leader to miss the funeral because of the expanding volcanic ash cloud. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also canceled.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, however, flew by plane from Moscow for the funeral.

Other foreign leaders used different modes of transportation to get there. Slovenian President Danilo Turk decided to drive the 500 miles to Krakow. Romanian President Traian Basescu traveled to northwestern Romania by helicopter and then continue by car through Hungary and Slovakia.

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip made the 18-hour drive to the funeral, while Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus made the trip by car and train. Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko left Kiev with his wife at 7 a.m. Saturday for the long road trip.

Mr. Obama has played golf far more often than former President George W. Bush. In his eight years in office, Mr. Bush played just 24 times. His last time as president was Oct. 13, 2003.

He said in 2008 that he gave up golf "in solidarity" with the families of soldiers who were dying in Iraq.

"I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," Mr. Bush said in a White House interview Saturday with the Politico. "I feel I owe it to the families to be as — to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

He stopped playing after he received word of a deadly attack in Iraq while playing golf during a stay at the family ranch near Crawford, Texas.

"They pulled me off the golf course, and I said it's just not worth it anymore to do," Mr. Bush said in the interview.

Since Mr. Obama took office, 397 soldiers have died in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Another 151 have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

I guess flying south, then east, then back west to Poland was out of the question.

[MasterOfMeatPuppets]

Maybe he should have drove there, too? Is this what you are reduced to, being a sniveling crybaby bitch? Medved didn't have to fly through an engine-shredding cloud of volcanic ash and the others didn't have three thousand miles of ocean to drive through. That is not difficult to comprehend, unless you're a moron.

As far as Bush giving up golf for slain soldiers, I'm damn glad he feels a bit of guilt for all the lives he's sacrificed in his failed attempt to live up to his father's example. If Obama had sent Poland's president to his death, this would be a valid comparison.

[CliffByford]

George W. Bush gave up golf "in solidarity" with people having bullets and rocket propelled grenades aimed at them on a daily basis? I bet the troops were delighted to hear that their Commander in Chief held off on whittling down his handicap (but only in 2008, mind - he was still hitting the fairways for a good seven years whilst POTUS before making this noble sacrifice) whilst they were stuck in some godforsaken corner of the Middle East.

Also, if you knew anything about European geography, you'd realise that the vast majority of indigenous leaders could reach Poland on land. Mainland Europe is dwarfed by the US, though admittedly the road system is old and difficult to negotiate. Helicopter travel is viable as choppers don't travel at altitudes affected by the ash cloud, and Medvedev could travel from Russia by plane as by that point the ash had not travelled so far East.

Do you even know where Iceland is? Do you know what divides the USA and Europe? (Physically, I mean; another interpretation could yield answers such as "civilisation, culture, history, philosophy" etc)

[KneelandBobDylan]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8626041.stm


World warming to US under Obama, BBC poll suggests.

Views of the US around the world have improved sharply over the past year, a BBC World Service poll suggests.

For the first time since the annual poll began in 2005, America's influence in the world is now seen as more positive than negative.

The improved scores for the US coincided with Barack Obama becoming president, a BBC correspondent notes.

As in 2009, Germany is viewed most favourably while Iran and Pakistan are seen as the most negative influences.

Nearly 30,000 people in 28 countries were interviewed for the poll, between November 2009 and February 2010.

Fifteen of the countries have been surveyed every year since 2005, allowing long-term trends to be discerned.

In these nations - or 14 of them, not including the US itself - positive views of the US fell to a low of 28% on average in 2007, from 38% in 2005, but recovered to 35% in 2009 and 40% in this year's poll.

The truth has a notorious liberal bias.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

Wow, 2 percent better than in 2005, a year after Bush's second term began? Impressive.

I'd also like to know what countries were surveyed and which demographic was interviewed.

[JakeYonkel]

65 years ago Germany was slaughtering millions of people and we rode in on a white horse to save the day.

Now somehow they're viewed the most favorably around the world and our 'ratings' are in the tank.

My, how the world is changed.

Don't get me wrong - I don't really give two fucks what the rest of the world thinks as we are consistently one of, if not THE biggest helping hands and charitable nation (in more ways than one). So pardon me for not really caring what they all think. Should we stop meddling in some other affairs? Sure. But if all it takes is Obama coming into office and making us weaker by admitting we're disarming nuclear stockpiles for the world to say "hey, go USA!" then he can keep his "change."

[MasterOfMeatPuppets]

But if all it takes is Obama coming into office and making us weaker by admitting we're disarming nuclear stockpiles for the world to say "hey, go USA!" then he can keep his "change."

Weaker? We have a stockpile of 4000+ nukes. How many do we need? Who do you fear will be emboldened by this 'weakening'? We used 2 in 1945 and none since. The US is a master of bombing others back to the Stone Age even without the magic powers of uranium and plutonium. Everyone knows that.

[JakeYonkel]

What purpose does it serve though? Because he wants to play nice for the rest of the world?

If we're not going to use them anyway, who cares if we have 4,000 or 14? It was the point of him getting up there and essentially bending us over for the rest of the world, saying we were cutting back AND admitting we wouldn't use them.

Now does that mean I think terrorists are going to take out Grand Central Station tomorrow? No. But without a threat of "we'll seriously fuck your shit up" you never know what psychos are going to do.

[MasterOfMeatPuppets]

What purpose does it serve though? Because he wants to play nice for the rest of the world?

Yes.

If we're not going to use them anyway, who cares if we have 4,000 or 14?

The people they're pointed at.

It was the point of him getting up there and essentially bending us over for the rest of the world, saying we were cutting back AND admitting we wouldn't use them.

We had over 32000 in 1966. We've been cutting back since and made no secret of it. Quit bitching like it's something new. Who said we wouldn't use them under any circumstances?

Now does that mean I think terrorists are going to take out Grand Central Station tomorrow? No. But without a threat of "we'll seriously fuck your shit up" you never know what psychos are going to do.

What psychos? What badasses do you believe are held back only by the threat of atomic annihilation?

[thejuggernaut]

What purpose does it serve though? Because he wants to play nice for the rest of the world?

If we're not going to use them anyway, who cares if we have 4,000 or 14? It was the point of him getting up there and essentially bending us over for the rest of the world, saying we were cutting back AND admitting we wouldn't use them.

Now does that mean I think terrorists are going to take out Grand Central Station tomorrow? No. But without a threat of "we'll seriously fuck your shit up" you never know what psychos are going to do.

I got a kick out of Maher's line the other night when he said (can't remember verbatim) "If a country launches them (nuclear weapons) at us, I hope our President has the humanity to say 'you know, our people are going to get wiped out, but I am not gonna wipe you out'"

[vlad]

Now does that mean I think terrorists are going to take out Grand Central Station tomorrow? No. But without a threat of "we'll seriously fuck your shit up" you never know what psychos are going to do.

What psychos? What badasses do you believe are held back only by the threat of atomic annihilation?

Well, we'll just nuke Psychostan! It's on the map somewhere...I'll keep looking, I'm sure it's somewhere. The we can seriously "fuck their shit up"....because terrorists, you know, have their own country.

People freaking out while we still have enough nukes to kill the planet a few times over.

Of course, I look forward to this rationale being used the next time a McVeigh wannabe blows up some huge structure...exactly how would we "fuck their shit up? Nuke Kentucky?