Now, I want to present you a very actual blog post written by "Plutonium Page" (alias Page van der Linden) this morning concerning President Obama's State of the Union Address. She concentrates on what Obama said about nuclear weapons control:
"'Even as we prosecute two wars, we are also confronting perhaps the greatest danger to the American people – the threat of nuclear weapons. I have embraced the vision of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan through a strategy that reverses the spread of these weapons, and seeks a world without them. To reduce our stockpiles and launchers, while ensuring our deterrent, the United States and Russia are completing negotiations on the farthest-reaching arms control treaty in nearly two decades. And at April’s Nuclear Security Summit, we will bring forty-four nations together behind a clear goal: securing all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years, so that they never fall into the hands of terrorists. [...] These diplomatic efforts have also strengthened our hand in dealing with those nations that insist on violating international agreements in pursuit of these weapons. That is why North Korea now faces increased isolation, and stronger sanctions – sanctions that are being vigorously enforced. That is why the international community is more united, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is more isolated. And as Iran’s leaders continue to ignore their obligations, there should be no doubt: they, too, will face growing consequences.'"In her comment on this speech Page stresses Obama's strong will to say "no" to nuclear weapons. In her opinion his multilateral approach - which means that he is open to discussing this issue with other countries in order to find a cooperative way to solve the problem of nuclear threat - embodies a "world of difference" (especially after Bush's egoistic unilaterialism).
This post is a typical example of Daily Kos being a biased blog. Obviously, "Plutonium Page" favors Obama and his in this case foreign and security policy. For me it was very interesting to read this post because the German journalists did not present Obama's speech in such a positive way. Many of them stated that the Americans would be tired of Obama talking about what to do instead of doing it. For me this clarifies that even if Daily Kos is not representative for the rest of the US these German reports show how important the cultural context is in which information is interpreted. In the end, I did at least learn this: If you want to know what the Americans think ask the Americans!
