Obama a Spineless Leader Thus Far: Krauthammer

Barack Obama has faced a spate of little challenges thus far from Russia, Iran, and Pakistan—and flunked them all, writes Charles Krauthammer. While Putin compounds his military strength and Ahmadinejad insults America, the new president has exhibited "utter passivity" on the world stage. In just one month, says the Washington Post columnist, the US has become "a grinning Goliath staggering about sporting a 'kick me' sign on his back."

Russia pressured Kyrgyzstan to close its US air base and wants to station troops in a breakaway Georgian province. The administration's response? A speech from Joe Biden saying that the US wants to "press the reset button" on NATO-Russia relations. America's enemies may just be testing "whether the new president has any spine. Preliminary X-rays are not very encouraging." Obama has work to do if he wants to recover from "a month of pummeling."
(More Barack Obama stories.)