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Which was the last president that was tough when it came to China?
Eisenhower, I guess.
Damn, even David Gergen is calling Obama weak.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/11/1...-wake-up-call/
Barack Obama has recently been reading up on the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Coming home from China, he might well focus on Kennedy’s first summit overseas with the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev. Indeed, we all could learn from that episode.
Like Obama, Kennedy came into office as an inspiring figure, an idealist who stirred hopes for the future and yet was inexperienced in the exercise of power. At the time, the Soviet Union was a rising nation that was threatening the global leadership of the United States.
In the fall of his first year in office, Kennedy went to Europe where he was welcomed grandly until he arrived in Vienna to sit down with Khrushchev. Kennedy, the idealist, thought that his charm and his appeals to reason would win over the Soviet leader. Instead, Khrushchev bullied him unmercifully and the men were unable to agree on anything of substance. Polite reasoning went nowhere.
According to Kennedy biographer Richard Reeves, Khruschev left the meeting telling associates, “He’s very young… not strong enough. Too intelligent and too weak.” Khrushchev concluded that he could push Kennedy around and started causing mischief from Berlin to Cuba.
Kennedy was shaken but, fortunately, he didn’t go into denial. He went into action, treating the meeting as a wake-up call. In the months that followed, he became a much tougher, more assertive president, and a year later when a showdown came over Khrushchev sneaking missiles into Cuba, Kennedy was an outstanding leader – and he turned the tables on Khrushchev.
Why bring up that story now, as President Obama comes home from Asia? Because it has considerable relevance to his meetings in China with President Hu.
Obama went into those sessions like Kennedy: with great hope that his charm and appeal to reason – qualities so admired in the United States – would work well with Hu. By numerous accounts, that is not at all what happened: reports from correspondents on the scene are replete with statements that Hu stiffed the President, that he rejected arguments about Chinese human rights and currency behavior while scolding the U.S. for its trade policies, and that he stage-managed the visit so that Obama – unlike Clinton and Bush before him – was unable to reach a large Chinese audience through television.
To be fair, President Obama seemed to handle the situation better than Kennedy did: he wasn’t humiliated, he did secure some generalized agreements, and – so the White House believes – he laid the groundwork for a productive, long-term relationship. We shall see.
But it is equally clear that this was not at all the kind of summit that an American administration would want – and it does bear some ominous similarities to the Kennedy-Khrushchev talks in Vienna.
It would seem wise not only for President Obama but for all Americans to treat this as a wake-up call.
For the President, the challenge is whether he will start approaching international affairs with a greater measure of toughness, standing up more firmly and assertively for American interests. Yes, he must still be the man of reason and peace, but that can easily be read as a sign of weakness by others unless he balances it with the inner steel that is essential in international affairs. The most recent issue of Forbes identifies Obama and Hu as the two most powerful people on the planet – but it is Obama who is Number One, not Hu. (capitalizing "One" -- nice touch)
For the United States, this trip should also send a clear message that the balance of power is changing in the world.
Even though China is still a relatively weak country compared to the U.S., it is rising rapidly, and people around the globe are wondering if China represents the future – and the U.S. the past. We need to wake up, too, recognizing that we have to pull ourselves together to solve the challenges before us – living beyond our means for too long, building up too much debt, allowing China to become our biggest creditor, refusing to overcome our polarization, allowing our political discourse to degenerate so that it is hard to find sensible answers, and on and on.
Unless we do pull together as a great people, we will find that our whole country – not just our President – will be in for a very rough ride. Downhill.
Which was the last president that was tough when it came to China?
Eisenhower, I guess.
If I were the Chinese government, I'd be very worried about Obamacare.
China is going to spend billions to expand public health coverage of its own citizens.
I guess you're scared about that too.
Boo!
Pretty sure China isn't impressed with anyone from the west. There's no use in trying to sway China in any direction with any approach. They are a dictatorship with widespread influence and allies in their region. Plus they are expanding economically and militarily at huge rates.
We are heading into a transitionary period where China will be a world power and we will not be clearly superior in technology or finances. We'll be in no position to make demands from our creditors and China is well aware of the power it currently has and will soon have.
If I was China I would be worried about nothing. No nation will attack you, you are expanding rapidly in all areas, the most powerful nation owes you gargantuan amounts of money, and you run an authoritarian government with no opposition. Only silly bloggers and talking heads fail to see the truth. You need to be tough with people below you, not with people that literally own you.
Actually, the Chinese are worried about a slowdown in their economic growth. Apparently they see a push towards universal health coverage as a way to help restore their higher rates of growth.
You American can rest assure that China and USA will not be in the same league in the near future. So many unsolved problems here.Even though China is still a relatively weak country compared to the U.S., it is rising rapidly, and people around the globe are wondering if China represents the future – and the U.S. the past. We need to wake up, too, recognizing that we have to pull ourselves together to solve the challenges before us – living beyond our means for too long, building up too much debt, allowing China to become our biggest creditor, refusing to overcome our polarization, allowing our political discourse to degenerate so that it is hard to find sensible answers, and on and on.
Oops.China questions costs of U.S. healthcare reform Post a comment (488)
Posted by: James Pethokoukis
Tags: Uncategorized, budget deficit, China, healthcare reform, national debt
Guess what? It turns out the Chinese are kind of curious about how President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform plans would impact America’s huge fiscal deficit. Government officials are using his Asian trip as an opportunity to ask the White House questions. Detailed questions.
Boilerplate assurances that America won’t default on its debt or inflate the shortfall away are apparently not cutting it. Nor should they, when one owns nearly $2 trillion in assets denominated in the currency of a country about to double its national debt over the next decade.
Nothing happening in Washington today should give Beijing any comfort or confidence about what may happen tomorrow. Healthcare reform was originally promoted as a way to “bend the curve” on escalating en lement costs, the major part of which is financing Medicare and Medicaid. That is looking more and more like an overpromised deliverable.
For instance, a new study from the U.S. government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finds that the healthcare reform bill recently passed in the House of Representatives would increase healthcare spending to 21.3 percent of GDP by 2019 compared with 20.8 percent under current law. That’s bending the curve the wrong way. The study also questions the “long-term viability” of the $500 billion in Medicare cuts meant to help pay for expanded insurance coverage.
In addition, the CMS study gives a clearer cost estimate than the one provided by the Congressional Budget Office. According to the CBO, the 10-year cost of PelosiCare is $894 billion. But that analysis includes early years with little government spending, According to the CMS, the House approach would cost $1 trillion from 2013-2019, or some $140 billion a year when fully put into effect.
Few realists in Washington think any of the current reform plans make a significant dent in the long-term healthcare cost to government. Indeed, the Senate Budget Committee recently held hearing about creating a bipartisan commission to find solutions to America’s en lements problems.
If healthcare reform really bent the curve, there would be a no need for such a commission to do Healthcare Reform 2.0.
The Chinese might want to keep up the questioning.
I suppose it's difficult to grasp reality through the lens of fanaticism.
China doesn't need to worry about being paid back. Both democrats and republicans are unanimous in their desire not to see China cut off their credit card. If it means telling generations of Americans "tough " and then taking away some/all of their medicare and social security benefits so that the debt burden can be maintained, then so be it. That's exactly what's going to happen. If we've learned anything from the last 2 years it should be that banks come before people.
The truth definitely hurts on this one. I don't like it any more than you do.
that had everything except a question from a chinamen.
Really? You're very optimistic. Historically, the most used tool to solve the problem is inflation. This is the reason why China is worried, not exactly that the US may default.
Here's a shot, now go back to your hut and attend our rice patty.
True, but national default came into the picture last fall.
With structural trillion dollar deficits, a massive and growing national debt, unfunded Medicare/ Social Security liabilities and the fear of functional default for our creditors (should we carry the tactic of inflating away our debt too far), any cir stance sufficient to cause our creditors to lose confidence in the USA again, could bring US default back into the picture. The once unthinkable is not only thinkable, it's a damn possibility.
Oops, there was nothing to back the editorial up.
And as I said, China is doing much the same thing we are considering to effect economic benefits.
So if you have an baseless editorial refuting that, go ahead and post it.
What do you mean by this? Are you saying that you don't believe in the Reuters post about how the Chinese government is worried about Obamacare?
China is doing exactly what? I don't think you understand the point. The Chinese should be worried, as I said, because Obamacare in the current US budgetary situation. If Obama said tomorrow "you know, we're going to go ahead with the health-care expansion but the federal government won't spend another dollar in anything else: not another dime to the social security, to the education system, to the military, to subsidize "green energies"... it's all over" I doubt the Chinese would be worried about Obamacare.
If you're argument is that China, who are the creditor, shouldn't be worried about a gigantic expansion of public health coverage in the US, the debtor and a country whose public debt is coming close to 100% of the GDP because they, a country whose public debt is much smaller in absolute value and not above 40% of the GDP, are making a similar expansion, I really don't know what to say.
I'm saying there is no substance to it. Maybe if there were actual quotes from Chinese officials and the like.
So they are just worried about the overall level of spending.China is doing exactly what? I don't think you understand the point. The Chinese should be worried, as I said, because Obamacare in the current US budgetary situation. If Obama said tomorrow "you know, we're going to go ahead with the health-care expansion but the federal government won't spend another dollar in anything else: not another dime to the social security, to the education system, to the military, to subsidize "green energies"... it's all over" I doubt the Chinese would be worried about Obamacare.
Why didn't you just say so?
So they aren't really worried about Obamacare, just spending in general.If you're argument is that China, who are the creditor, shouldn't be worried about a gigantic expansion of public health coverage in the US, the debtor and a country whose public debt is coming close to 100% of the GDP because they, a country whose public debt is much smaller in absolute value and not above 40% of the GDP, are making a similar expansion, I really don't know what to say.
Why didn't you say so?
China nowadays is nothing if not pragmatic. They've got too many problems not to be. They've got to realize though that nobody can keep up 8 percent growth in GDP forever.
And with their age demographics they NEED 8% growth just to create new jobs for the younger ones coming into the workforce. They have taken the capitalist genie out of the bottle and they can't put it back now.
China is far away from being in the position to be indifferent to the needs and wants of the US market. In 30 years, yes -- but now, I think they just want their investment in us to render fruit.
LOL now why would USA play tough with daddy?
Are you saying that Reuters is lying?
You were really expecting Chinese officials to raise these kind of questions in public?
They are worried about Obamacare. Most of the deficit is structural, so much harder to correct, Obamacare can still be stopped.
I'm saying it's an opinion piece. A blog entry. One that has no sources at all.
Why wouldn't they?You were really expecting Chinese officials to raise these kind of questions in public?
They're worried about spending. You proved that with your own post.They are worried about Obamacare. Most of the deficit is structural, so much harder to correct, Obamacare can still be stopped.
I'm a little unclear on this thread.
China is a communist country. Which apparently to "conservatives" on this board communist=fascist=socialist.
I shudder to think how much Obama would be ripped on this board if China was cheering him on. There would be no end to how much vitriol and hate there would be spewed about how the evil communist nation loves our president and how that means we're essentially a 100% c/f/s government overnight.
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