Waiting for America, Waiting for Europe

Waiting for America, Waiting for Europe

Posted by: Judy Dempsey

Tuesday, November 08, 2016 | http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=65061&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTWpRMU5UUXlZMkpsWlRobSIsInQiOiJ3aFlNOFZ0XC83TEpFT3VOTjBKS1ZSMldwXC9GM0hmazUxYWlwWnpMUEI3NlR3OFwvaFIyNkRobEpaNUJQTWpYeDM0TTBcLzdxeWVGcDd5RXN6V3U4N01Ba3FRUFM0ZWFXWmJock15Q0RPOEhzZ2M9In0%3D

The waiting has ended. Today, November 8, Americans elect a new president to enter the White House in January, bringing to a close Barack Obama’s eight-year tenure as the world’s most important leader. Whoever replaces Obama will be saddled with trying to close the extraordinarily deep divisions that characterized the election campaign as well as with redefining America’s foreign policy priorities.
Europeans had looked on with fascination but also dismay—if not a degree of sadness—at the way the campaign was conducted. And just as the Obama era nears its end, Europeans are now suddenly discovering that they are going to miss the Democratic president; that he wasn’t that bad after all.

Judy Dempsey

Nonresident Senior Associate
Carnegie Europe
Editor in chief
Strategic Europe

This is a typical if not condescending European view. Europeans judge U.S. presidents on their own terms and not on the strategic ambitions or limitations set by the president—or, indeed, by the U.S. Congress. It’s as if Europeans want U.S. presidents to do the right thing without ever defining what that entails in terms of defense, security, and foreign policies or what role European leaders can play.http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=65061&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTWpRMU5UUXlZMkpsWlRobSIsInQiOiJ3aFlNOFZ0XC83TEpFT3VOTjBKS1ZSMldwXC9GM0hmazUxYWlwWnpMUEI3NlR3OFwvaFIyNkRobEpaNUJQTWpYeDM0TTBcLzdxeWVGcDd5RXN6V3U4N01Ba3FRUFM0ZWFXWmJock15Q0RPOEhzZ2M9In0%3D