Does Obama Believe in American Exceptionalism?

Kayla Proctor

2/21/2017

American Foreign Policy

Does Obama Believe in American Exceptionalism?

In order to know if Obama believed in American Exceptionalism, we must first understand what American Exceptionalism means. It is defined as the United States being inherently different from other nations, while having a mission to change the world, and that this mission makes Americans inherently superior over other nations.

In order to become President of the United States, it is an unspoken rule for the person to believe in the idea that America is a great country, and that America can do a lot to change the world, just like every world leader would believe of their own country. President Obama has been quoted saying “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism. I am enormously proud of my country and its role and history in the world.” Believing in American Exceptionalism does not mean, however, excluding the fact that America has faults, and that they need to be fixed in order to keep America special. President Obama’s entire campaign was about change for America, and making it even more exceptional than it already was. He was creating jobs and making lives better for the American people while simultaneously showing the world that America, the “perfect” country was not actually perfect and that it needed some work.

President Obama, while believing in American Exceptionalism, believed that it was more than just “chest-bumping and cheerleading.” He showed that what makes America so great and different from other countries is the differences that each individual brings to unify the country, and these differences need to be celebrated. We as Americans are more than just the slogan “Make America Great Again.” We are already great because of the differences we have, and President Obama used his campaign of change to make sure that these differences were celebrated instead of hidden away.

Works Cited:

"Yes, Obama does believe in American Exceptionalism" NY Daily News. 10 October 2012. http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/yes-obama-american-exceptionalism-article-1.1179394

American Exceptionalism

Bobby Orokos

February 21, 2017

Does Obama Believe in American Exceptionalism?

Throughout Obama’s eight years serving as President of the United States, there are many debates as to whether he believes in American Exceptionalism.  Despite his actions serving as President abroad and domestically, there are disputes as to what qualifies his view of American Exceptionalism.  To clarify, American Exceptionalism is the ideology that the United States has a role to fill to stand above others as an example of how a society should work, because it proved exceptional against Europe when the United States claimed and won independence.

President Obama has taken a different approach towards American Exceptionalism.  Whereas his predecessors (Goerge W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H. W. Bush), demonstrated American Exceptionalism with military force and deployment of American strength throughout the world.  In a Washington Post article by Greg Jaffe, he discusses how critics of President Obama discuss how he does not embrace America’s exceptionalism the same was as Presidents before him.  Jaffe says, “Today, just about every Republican presidential candidate is condemning Obama for a failure to grasp America’s exceptional nature. They say he’s too quick to criticize the country for its failings at home” (Jaffe 1).  The argument that American Exceptionalism only exists because America has more potential than the rest of the world, however, if domestically the United States is behind the rest of the world, how can be we better?  The history of the United States post-World War II involves US military intervention and demonstrating military strength around the world.  However, where the United States is superior in military strength, other parts of the world challenge the idea of American Exceptionalism when it comes to domestic policies and practices.  Yes, the United States is one of the original democracies and an experiment that resulted in a massive success, but by focusing on military strength and interventions around the world to better it and spread American ideologies, domestic implementation of American ideology itself may have been weakened in the process.

President Obama does believe in American Exceptionalism, which can be observed from his speech after winning the 2008 election.  In Grant Park, Chicago, President Obama said in a speech, “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer” (Jaffe 1).  The election of the first African-American President is truly exceptional for the United States, however, other places around the world have reached similar goals before us, with one example being Angela Merkel as the Chancellor of Germany since 2005, whereas the United States has yet to have a female President.  By focusing on more domestic issues and not embracing the full power of the military abroad, President Obama only strengthened American Exceptionalism by reinforcing the great values that made America exceptional in the first place.

The United States lived up to the title it was given as exceptional, but since 1945, focused on spreading its ideology through military strength.  Under President Obama, the United States took a more reformative approach towards American Exceptionalism by strengthening domestically the values that makes America greater than other places around the world before trying to continue spreading them around the world.  While President Obama did not utilize American Exceptionalism to the fullest he could have in his actions abroad, by taking American Exceptionalism on an analytical level and strengthening the values that makes America exceptional, President Obama displayed a form of American Exceptionalism that was not practiced in the post-World War II era.

News Article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/06/03/obama-and-american-exceptionalism/

American Exceptionalism

Ben Rajadurai

American Foreign Policy

Professor Kirk

Feb 21 2017

American Exceptionalism 

There is no question Barack Obama thought America was great. No man would willingly dedicate an entire life to public service if they didn’t believe that there was something worth defending. However, the question still remains, did Barack Obama believe that America was exceptional? Did he believe that there was something different that set the United States apart as the “shining city upon a hill? The simple answer to that is no, Barack Obama did not believe in American Exceptionalism.

In contrast to presidents who undeniably believed in American Exceptionalism like Reagan and both the Bushes. Reagan spoke of the United States as   “A tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity.” Aside from the flowery rhetoric and at times to its own detriment, the Reagan administration fought communism aggressively because of it’s believe in its own values and that there was something different and better about American values.

In contrast, President Obama took a much more realist perspective to foreign policy. It wasn’t  about exporting our values across the globe but rather about preserving American success while relatively ignoring countries like Russia and their rapid expansion and growth in power both in Ukraine as well as their backing of Assad in Syria. A president motivated by a belief in American Exceptionalism would likely have intervened in Syria and Libya and would’ve taken a much firmer stance against Russian interference across the world. 

Does Obama Believe in American Exceptionalism?

Grace Picariello

February 21, 2017

American Foreign Policy

Does Obama Believe in American Exceptionalism?

American Exceptionalism is the idea that the United States is the beacon on the hill that sets an example for all other nations. We are so exemplary that countries around the world look up to us, our policies, and our values. In other words, the United States sets a precedent for the rest of the world. 

President Obama does not disregard the idea of American Exceptionalism, but at the same time he does not embrace the idea in the way that other leaders and philosophers do/did. Obama does acknowledge the fact that we, as Americans, have a duty to something bigger than ourselves. He believes that we must rely on our ability to be self-critical as a way to evolve into a better nation over time, learning from our mistakes and setting an example. As John Winthrop states, "wee must be willing to abridge our selves of our superfluities" (Winthrop, City Upon A Hill). In other words, in order for us to be an example for other nations, we must be willing to change. Obama does not think that the idea of a country's exceptionalism is unique to America alone. He believes "in American exceptionalism, just as [he] suspects that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism" (Farley, 1). In other words, most people are naturally proud of their country and believe that it is better than everywhere else. This is the idea of nationalism fundamentally. However, the important distinction that President Obama makes is that not just Americans believe their nation is exceptional. This is a feeling that is shared by millions of other people from thousands of different countries. 

Obama sees the United States as somewhat of a work in progress. We constantly have the opportunity to better ourselves and this is something that we should take seriously. Obama feels that America has become a world superpower because of its' ability to change overtime, constantly improving. This way, eventually, we will be a nation unlike any other, in the idea that we truly are a beacon on the hill. Our policies will be tried and tested and at that point, we will be set apart from other countries. So, although Obama does not believe in American exceptionalism in the traditional definition, he certainly accepts that America is unique in other ways and might someday have the potential to set itself apart from everywhere else.

Works Cited:
Farley, Robert, "Fact Check: Obama and American Exceptionalism", Philly.com, http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/FactCheck_Obama_and_American_Exceptionalism.html

Winthrop, John, "City Upon A Hill", 1630

American Exceptionalism

Chandler Skolnick

U.S. Foreign Policy

Obama Response

            American exceptionalism is a vital aspect of the sense of patriotism in the United States. It is what has driven presidents to make extreme global decisions, most recently involving war and military action. This idea of exceptionalism derives from the idea that the United States is a global leader and role model; one who will help and protect those in need, no matter the price. It is also this sense of exceptionalism that has caused various parts of the world to resent the U.S. When further analyzing the first term of Barrack Obama's presidency, it has become quite evident that his policies have attempted to stray away from this notion of American exceptionalism, ultimately showing that he does not believe that this notion works or exists. 

            There are several specific instances in President Obama’s presidency that have shown his lack of belief in promoting American exceptionalism. The first of these examples is his reaction to the Green Revolution in Iran. As Ryan Lizza explains in his article, following the presidential elections in Iran there were mass protests in favor of the losing candidate. These protestors promoted a better, more citizen-oriented democracy, but the regime in power quickly pushed back against this movement (Lizza). In response to this crisis in Iran, President Obama instructed his staff not to interfere with Iran by backing the pro-democracy protestors. This was ordered due to the fact that the President was fearful that aiding the protestors would harm any negotiations with the current regime (Lizza). By failing to aid or even issue a statement of support to those who sought a fair democracy, Obama failed to act as a global leader (who would help the oppressed reach democracy) that an American exceptionalist would believe the U.S. President should be. Instead, the President was too afraid to damage relationships with a seemingly tyrannical government, something that the leader of the most powerful nation in the world should not fear under exceptionalism.

The other primary example of Obama’s lack of belief in American exceptionalism is through his dealings with the crisis in Libya. In this case, the Libyan people began to rise up and fight against their oppressive leader, Muhammar Qaddaffi. As the revolt escalated to serious conflict, several members of the United Nations Security Council drafted a vote for a U.N.-enforced air ban over Libyan airspace. Unlike many of his predecessors, President Obama was hesitant to support this vote (Lizza). This left the Council in a peculiar position: waiting on the United States for a decision on supporting military involvement. Contrary to the American exceptionalist belief, in this case, President Obama decided to take a step back and not take the primary leading role in this decision and instead “encouraged France, Britain, and other allies to share the lead” (Nye 106). President Obama’s direct refusal to act as the primary global leader in deciding how to go about dealing with Libya, provides a prime example for just how far from American exceptionalism he truly is. In conclusion, President Obama has clearly left behind the notion of American exceptionalism in his foreign policies, through his dealings with Iran Libya, and numerous other global and political issues.

Works Cited

Michael Cox and Doug Stokes (2012). American Foreign Policy. 2^nd ed. Oxford

University Press (Hereafter Cox and Stokes)

Lizza, Ryan. "The Consequentialist." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 05 Jan. 2017. Web.     21 Feb. 2017.