The Issue: Whether President Obama’s leadership style has weakened America’s image internationally.
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Praise be to Linda Chavez (“Remaking America’s Image,” PostOpinion, Aug. 10).
From beginning to end, she spoke the truth. After President Obama’s “apology tour,” wasn’t America supposed to be loved by the whole world? Weren’t we supposed to be more respected because of his words?
For someone who says he understands the rest of the world, nothing could be further from the truth. The terrorists may never have loved us, but they had a healthy fear of us. Not any more. Take heed, Obama — this is just the beginning.
We need a leader, not someone who wants to be loved by everyone.
Dave Filipek
Meriden, Conn.
Out of necessity, Chavez only scratched the surface on the reasons for Obama’s lack of respect. The single biggest factor is his unbelievable degree of arrogance and condescension.
I have never known or observed in the public sphere anyone who displays the degree of these personality traits that Obama does. He uses condescension as a cover to imply that doing what needs to be done is essentially beneath him and would only be done by a president of lesser stature, as he is currently doing in regard to Vladimir Putin. John Hatch
Boise, Idaho
The Edward Snowden affair is only the latest example of a remarkably lame and ill-reasoned foreign policy — an in-your-face example of how little sway our White House water-walker brings to the global stage.
There is no reason to expect a change in his remarkably passive approach during the rest of his term, absent an external event capable of reordering his view that passivity engenders respect and that diminishing our weapons makes international comity more likely.
Paul Bloustein
Cincinnati