Jessica Chasmar
The Washington Times
4/20/2014
New York Times columnist David Brooks said Sunday that he believes President Obama’s foreign policy isn’t “tough enough” and that he has a “manhood problem” when it comes to dealing with leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Mr. Brooks expanded on Sen. Bob Corker’s earlier comments on “Fox News Sunday” that Mr. Obama is “creating an air of permissiveness” with regards to Russia.
“Basically since Yalta we’ve had an assumption that borders are basically going to be borders and once that comes into question, if in Ukraine or in Crimea or anywhere else, then all over the world all bets are off,” he said on “Meet the Press” Sunday.
“And let’s face it, Obama, whether deservedly or not, does have a — I’ll say it crudely — but a manhood problem in the Middle East,” he continued. “Is he tough enough to stand up to somebody like Assad or somebody like Putin? I think a lot of the rap is unfair, but certainly in the Middle East there is an assumption that he’s not tough enough.”
NBC’s Chuck Todd agreed, arguing that “it is sort of the rhetoric, internally” among lawmakers that the president’s “rhetoric isn’t tough enough.”
“From Yalta to health care,” Mr. Brooks interjected, receiving laughs.
