Throughout the 2008 presidential election, the American public was lead to believe that our country’s inability to forge effective international cooperation was simply an issue of presidential personality. For many onlookers, this line of reasoning became increasingly persuasive as huge crowds of Europeans gathered in July of 2008 to see then-candidate Obama deliver his charismatic Berlin speech. Meanwhile the mainstream media helped propagate the myth that George Bush’s gun blazing, tobacco spittin’ cowboy ­diplomacy was the sole source of our allies’ reluctance to step up to the plate, despite a history of post WWII tensions.

As Obama returns home from the G-20 meeting in London relatively empty-handed, he is likely to have become acutely aware of this myth, as well as the limitations of his own popularity in the realm of international politics. After bowing to some, taking year book pictures with others, and delivering an unprecedented critique of American history on foreign soil, it appears as though the only real change in America’s capacity to leverage its allies is that Europeans are more likely to follow a policy rebuke with a consoling pat on the back. The lesson here is that contrary to conventional wisdom there really is no reset button in international politics, although there is apparently an overcharge button. Obama’s inability to convince the Europeans to coordinate a fiscal stimulus as well as exceed the bare minimum of support in Afghanistan illustrates the absurdity of the notion that an internationally popular American president can convince the Europeans to accept unpopular policies.

So how does all of this apply to getting the GOP back on track? In short, the GOP should abandon the sometimes-concealed and highly unproductive perception that Europeans are intrinsically anti-American. Republicans should recognize that national interests, rather than popularity, dictate international politics. While using George Bush’s unpopular cowboy diplomacy as a way to explain our allies’ reluctance to cooperate is clearly a bogus way to place blame, the GOP would be well advised to learn from the Bush administration’s PR misadventures. Leveraging national interests, not popularity, is the key to avoiding returning home largely empty-handed.

Last 5 posts by Emil G. Maine

• Why America Needs More Clunkers - August 1st, 2009
• A Dishonest Debate - April 24th, 2009
• Picking The Right Fight - April 15th, 2009
• Learning from Rahm - April 2nd, 2009