Barack Obama and a Farewell to Trust

What did the president know and when did he know it? Such was demanded of Richard Nixon, who resigned 40 years ago. In no sense can US President Barack Obama be morally compared with the man who brought the US Watergate.

Obama is neither a crook nor a liar. But Obama shares one problem that can cripple what remains of his presidency — most people no longer trust him. The sentiment spans foreign allies as well as domestic critics. When trust goes, respect is seldom far behind.

The most surprising example is Germany. It was in Berlin in 2008 that then senator Obama had unveiled his global promise — an America that could once again be trusted. Germans no longer believe it. In the wake of the “friendly spying” ring allegations, less than 40 per cent of Germans consider the US a trustworthy partner, according to one survey.

Senior German figures cannot agree whether Obama was unaware of Washington’s double agents, or dissembling. Either way, when Obama spoke to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, the day before the initial revelations, he did not raise it. It was enough to make you want to cry, said Wolfgang Schauble, the Finance Minister. Never before has a close US ally expelled a CIA station chief.

Mistrust is a nebulous concept. In the case of Nixon, people rightly suspected he was crooked. In the case of Obama, it is based on the perception that he is ineffectual. His words are so rarely joined to deeds. The net result is not radically different.

Read more from this story HERE.