Published: January 4, 2009
Courtesy Of Tampa Bay Online
WASHINGTON - When it comes to repairing the faltering U.S. economy, Barack Obama offers vision, numbers and detail. But as Israeli bombs and Palestinian missiles explode in the Middle East, the president-elect has responded with silence.
With 16 days until he takes office, Obama is likely to encounter a region reshaped by new violence once he becomes commander in chief. But he has refused to engage in diplomatic conversation before then, insisting that to do so would undermine President George W. Bush.
And that is drawing criticism among Arabs who have grown skeptical about hopes that his administration will break with the Mideast policies of the Bush era.
Obama's aides say that he does not wish to address foreign-policy issues in any way that could send "confusing signals" about U.S. policy as long as President Bush is in office.
"President-elect Obama is closely monitoring global events, including the situation in Gaza, but there is one president at a time," said Brooke Anderson, Obama's national security spokeswoman.
Arab commentators maintain, however, that Obama did comment on foreign affairs when he issued a statement condemning the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and that he has given several news conferences outlining his economic proposals. They suggest that his refusal to speak out on Gaza - where more than 400 Palestinians have died in Israeli airstrikes - implies indifference to the plight of Palestinians or even complicity with Israel's bombing campaign.
It is not only the Arab world that has noticed the president-elect's silence: At a celebrity gathering to condemn Israel's assault in London on Friday, participants called on Obama to speak out.
Such calls underscore the challenge confronting a president-elect who has promised to deliver change and who may now face unrealistically high expectations as to how far that change will go.
Although the "one president" philosophy has kept Obama mum on foreign policy crises since the Nov. 4 election, he has abandoned it when it comes to the economy, talking at great length about his plans for the nation's financial recovery.
Obama - and the usually loquacious Vice President-elect Joseph Biden - have all but taken over the job of designing an economic rescue, declaring weeks ago that "work starts today."
The difference offers a glimpse into Obama's careful governing style, in which the 44th president and his team weigh the risks of action against the political advantages of doing or saying nothing.
"It seems clear he's just cherry-picking those things that serve his purpose and staying as far away from Middle East troubles as he can," said G. Calvin MacKenzie, a professor of government at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
"Come Jan. 21, he's going to have to deal with some of these issues. But politically, there's no good news there. There's no benefit in him getting involved with that sooner than he has to."
Aides say the president-elect's silence on foreign policy follows a long-held principle that reserves such issues to the president. Offering a competing voice could have consequences for U.S. policy.
Although Obama signaled after the election that he would spend the 11-week transition largely in the background, he has been anything but a political wallflower when it comes to the economy.
Obama has asked Congress to have a stimulus package ready to "jolt" the economy by the time he is sworn in.
"With our economy in distress, we cannot hesitate and we cannot delay," Obama said Nov. 25. "Our families can't afford to keep on waiting."
Information from McClatchy-Tribune was used in this report.
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