by J. R. Dunn
American Thinker
December 27, 2009
Why did Chinese premier Wen Jiabao choose to publicly humiliate Barack Obama at Copenhagen? In their eyes, and in those of much of the world, he has lost face, and with it, power and influence. While getting widespread play overseas, this story has been kept very quiet by our disinterested, nonpartisan media (I haven’t seen it mentioned in any major U.S. outlet).
After promising to meet the Messiah at 7:00 p.m., Premier Wen stood him up in favor of a meeting with the leaders of India, South Africa, and Brazil. Rather than wait, a no-doubt infuriated Obama stalked into the room in question and demanded, “Are you ready to see me, Premier Wen?” No word on Wen’s reaction, though he did submit to a discussion on the spot that evidently sealed the release of the immortal and glorious Copenhagen Quasi-Agreement on Climate Change.
So with Barack Obama, we’ve reached the point where the leader of record of the most powerful state in history has become a man you can casually stand up. But the question remains: Why?
There are a number of reasons why the Chinese might take a cavalier attitude toward an American leader. China is the chief foreign holder of American debt, which may well have created an impression of the U.S. as a beggar nation on the level of a failed African republic. (I strongly suspect that words were exchanged on this topic during Obama’s recent visit to China, though we’re unlikely ever to learn about them in detail.)
There’s also the matter of race. As is true of most Asians, the Chinese sense of racial superiority is cultural and innate. This is a people who refer to Caucasians as “ghost shadows”; what they think of American blacks is probably best not dwelt upon.
Then there’s the deep aura of unseriousness that Obama has generated around himself. Though essentially incalculable, this factor is undeniable and will grow in importance and impact as time passes.
But there’s one event in particular that very likely played a part — the fact that only a few weeks before, Obama publicly and notoriously bowed to the emperor of Japan.
The article continues at the American Thinker.
