Why is the Middle East in flames and Russia on the rampage? In both Europe and the Middle East, it is common to hear the blame placed on Barack Obama. The US president, it is charged, is a weak and disengaged leader who has allowed international events to get out of control. Many Americans — both liberals and conservatives — make the same accusation. Sarah Palin, darling of the American right, has called Mr Obama “capitulator-in-chief”. Roger Cohen, a New York Times columnist, has blamed Syria’s agony on the “fecklessness and purposelessness” of the Obama administration.
為何中東戰火紛飛？為何俄羅斯橫沖直撞？在歐洲和中東，人們常將此歸咎于美國總統巴拉克?奧巴馬(Barack Obama)。人們指稱，這位美國總統是一名軟弱、置身事外的領導人，放任國際事態失控。許多美國人——既有自由派，也有保守派——對奧巴馬提出了同樣的指責。備受美國右翼青睞的沙拉?佩林(Sarah Palin)把奧巴馬稱為“投降總司令”。《紐約時報》(New York Times)專欄作家羅杰?科恩(Roger Cohen)把敘利亞的苦難歸因為奧巴馬政府的“低效無能和漫無目標”。