If by bullying you are referring to Russia and China, he's better than their leaders, for sure. Of course. No comparison.
But America operates in its own interests primarily. And it still thinks it is a model for the world.
It has made a wretched mess of the world order over the last 20 years beginnng with Iraq. The same issues remain unresolved. The country that lost the west the moral high ground by lying its way into a war of choice and by reintroducing torture now wants to claim it against Putin in Ukraine. The government that almost abandoned the rule of law, democracy, NATO and free trade just one presidency back thinks it has standing to tell folks how to live. The current administration which gave its allies no warning about leaving Afghanistan thinks it plays the unifying role in the latest conflict, when actually, it is a collective response to Putin and the plight of Ukraine inspired by the authentic hero, President Zelensky. Zelensky's acts of astonishing personal bravery shamed the west into action. Without him, none of this would be happening. That's actual unifying leadership.
So the US is frustrating in its own way. Maybe Biden seems more rosy from a US perspective.
Here's just an idea of how he is seen by some in the UK - from a part of the political spectrum that usually supports the US: "One of Barack Obama’s advisers famously described him as “leading from behind” on the Libya crisis. His Democratic successor in the White House is doing even worse. In fact, Joe Biden has been sleeping from behind on the Ukraine front from day one. His leadership on the world stage projects a staggering complacency that lacks urgency, foresight or any kind of strategic vision..."
That's to say, he wants to lead, but he offers no picture of the new world order he desires. It's leadership for the sake of leading, the vanity of power, not because he offers anything worth following.
I'd like to see the US lead by example, as it has in the past. But it is a long way from that at the moment. The US has to resolve its internal problems before it is fit for an enlarged role in the world.
| 