A Change in the U.S. Image

Steve Benen is the writer of “When the Leader of the Free World Leads,” published in his blog in the online magazine Washington Monthly. He states his favorable opinion on President Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit. Benen claims that the President’s posture regarding international issues has been improving the way other countries see the United States. In other words, this Nuclear Security Summit not only works in terms of national/world security but also works strengthening the United States politically – a belief that I share with Benen.
Before explaining how great are the changes that President Obama has been making, he gives us some of the reasons why the U.S. has been losing its power as a leading country. The author presents real examples of foreign matters with which America has not succeeded, like “getting the Israelis and Palestinians on a two-state pathway; or ending the anachronistically simmering Cold War conflict in U.S.-Cuba relations; or persuading Iran to forgo a nuclear weapons track.” By presenting first the evidence that things were not going well for the America’s image before the world, Benen gives even more strength to what is presented after.
Next, examples of Obama’s positive actions are presented. Some of the examples are: “the breakthrough on a new arms treaty with Russia, followed by the Nuclear Posture Review, followed by this week's successes during the Nuclear Security Summit.” These actions, according to Steve Benen, demonstrated that the President is able to fulfill promises and that he does not make shallow or bilateral proposes, but applicable and realistic ones.
The author clearly leans to the Democratic Party and writes to a Democratic audience. Even though his text follows a logic pattern (the statement of his claims followed by evidences of how things were and how things are becoming), I believe more evidence would have to be presented if it were written to Republican readers.