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Smackdown in Seoul: Obama Gets an ‘F’ in South Korea


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Pajamas Media:

President’s Obama’s march through Asia was beginning to resemble a triumphal tour. In both India and Indonesia — the first two stops on the 10-day, four-nation visit that ended Sunday — he dazzled his hosts and thrived on the adulation. On most scorecards — including mine — he received top marks in each country. Bravo, Mr. President.

Then Mr. Obama arrived in Seoul. There, he earned an “F,” failing two critical tasks. In both cases, the wounds were self-inflicted. And grievous.

First, the president failed to clinch a deal with the South Koreans over the pending free-trade deal, known as “KORUS.” The agreement was signed in June 2007, but the Bush administration did not submit it for congressional ratification due to issues raised by domestic constituencies — primarily cattle ranchers and automakers.

President Obama, this June, said that Washington and Seoul would settle the outstanding issues by the time of the G-20 meeting, which took place last Thursday and Friday. A week ago, there was no hint of trouble as both the White House and the Blue House saw the agreement as vital to their economies. The deal, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission, would increase U.S. exports by $10 billion, for instance. More important, KORUS has always been viewed as strategically crucial, shoring up an alliance being tested by both North Korea and its ally, China.

On Wednesday, Beltway insiders were reporting that Washington and Seoul had “hammered out a basic compromise,” to quote the influential Nelson Report. Observers, therefore, were stunned the following day when they learned that the two governments could not agree on last-minute items. There are conflicting narratives as to the cause of the failure — Obama’s highhanded tactics with his South Korean counterpart regarding beef figures prominently in analyses — but there is one point that is indisputable: the president has just created a rift with a nation of increasing importance to the United States.snip
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Tone-deaf and arrogant till the end. Obambi is going to get washed out in 2 years, and he'll never be able to acknowledge he did himself in... :rolleyes:

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