THE QUESTION
Rate Obama's first performance on the international stage on a scale of 1-10, and tell us why you think so.
Posted by Lauren Keane on April 1, 2009 5:54 PM
FROM THE PANEL
Saul Singer, a columnist and former editorial page editor at the Jerusalem Post, is co-author of the forthcoming book, Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle. He has also written for the Wall Street Journal, Commentary, Middle East Quarterly, Moment, the New Leader, and bitterlemons.org (an Israeli/Palestinian e-zine). Before moving to Israel in 1994, he served as an adviser in the United States Congress to the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Banking Committees. He is also on Twitter.
Obama Scores A Two (For Showing Up)
Obama bowed to Saudi Arabia's despotic king - another in a line of actions likely to invite aggression by America's enemies. His foreign policy will fail if it's all "soft" and no "power."
Saul Singer Jerusalem, Israel |Apr 6, 2009 at 7:37 AM
Miriam Leitao is a reporter and columnist for O Globo and Radio CBN in Brazil. She is also a commentator on Globo TV Network and runs her own blog, www.miriamleitao.com, hosted at Globo online at www.oglobo.com.br. She was awarded Columbia University’s Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 2005.
Perfect Ten for Obama's Leadership
Miriam Leitao Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |Ignacio Gil Vázquez is the managing editor of Spain’s second largest circulation newspaper, El Mundo. He previously served as foreign correspondent in France and as Culture section editor. He has covered wide-ranging events throughout his career, including the Basque conflict, Catalan politics, Francois Mitterrand’s final years as president of France, his successor Jacques Chirac’s election, and the death of Princess Diana.
Obama: Skip the Formalities
Ignacio Gil Vázquez Madrid, Spain |Dr. Ali Ettefagh serves as a director of Highmore Global Corporation, an investment company in emerging markets of Eastern Europe, CIS, and the Middle East. He is the co-author of several books on trade conflict, resolution of international trade disputes, conflicts in letters of credit, trade-related banking transactions, sovereign debt, arbitration and dispute resolutions and publications specific to the oil and gas, communication, aviation and finance sectors. Dr. Ettefagh is a member of the executive committee and the board of directors of The Development Foundation, an advisor to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, and an advisor to a number of European companies. Dr. Ettefagh speaks Persian (Farsi), English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and Turkish.
Five Out of Ten, Plus One Extra Credit Point, For Obama's Debut
Ali Ettefagh Tehran, Iran |Recent Discussions
- Should the World Help Iran Protesters?
- Iranian Election Aftermath
- Obama's Cairo Speech
- Has the World Lost Confidence in U.S. Economic Management?
- The Future of Newspapers
- U.S., Israel on a Crash Course Over Iran?
- Threats From An Interlinked World
- Reconciliation for Turkey and Armenia
- All Past Questions


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