Phew: Obama has restored our standing in the world

Primal scream time:

"I think that we've restored America's standing in the world, and that's confirmed by polls," he told CNN's Ed Henry in a wide-ranging interview this week during his trip to China.

"I think a recent one indicated that around the world, before my election, less than half the people -- maybe less than 40 percent of the people -- thought that you could count on America to do to the right thing. Now it's up to 75 percent."

The president said that makes it easier for world leaders to cooperate with the United States, noting Chinese and Russia involvement in nuclear talks with Iran.

Is this what he's talking about?

Watch the entire 14-minute interview here. The president discusses the 9/11 trial decision, Afghanistan, etc. I haven't listened to it all but read the CNN account. Just for a laugh, I guess, he reassures us that his decisions aren't based on what he believes will serve him politically:

"I don't want to be making decisions based on getting re-elected, because I think the challenges that America faces right now are so significant," the president said. "Obviously, if I make those decisions and I think that I'm moving the country on the right direction economically, in terms of our security interests, our foreign policy, I'd like to think that those policies are continued, because they're not going to bear fruit just in four years."

Ooookay. So by "right direction" he must mean "straight into the ground."

In another interview, this one with Chuck Todd, Obama reveals himself to be as lousy a lawyer as he is president:

Americans who are troubled by the decision to send alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to New York for trial will feel better about it when he’s put to death, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.

During a round of network television interviews conducted during Obama’s visit to China, the president was asked about those who find it offensive that Mohammed will receive all the rights normally accorded to U.S. citizens when they are charged with a crime.

“I don't think it will be offensive at all when he's convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him,” Obama told NBC’s Chuck Todd.

When Todd asked Obama if he was interfering in the trial process by declaring that Mohammed will be executed, Obama, a former constitutional law professor, insisted that he wasn’t trying to dictate the result.

“What I said was, people will not be offended if that's the outcome. I'm not pre-judging, I'm not going to be in that courtroom, that's the job of prosecutors, the judge and the jury,” Obama said. “What I'm absolutely clear about is that I have complete confidence in the American people and our legal traditions and the prosecutors, the tough prosecutors from New York who specialize in terrorism.”

Yeah, he's a moron. Chuck Todd has better legal instincts than "law professor" Obama. No way could a pronouncement like this from the president of the United States prejudice anyone, right?

Read the rest of the Politico column for a round-up of Obama's remarks from the various recent interviews.

*Update: Related post: Obama taints KSM jury pool

Linked at Michelle Malkin (buzzworthy)

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