It's amazing to watch Condoleezza Rice, who was at the center of some of the greatest foreign-policy debacles in recent history, proposing how to restore trust in America.





Fred Kaplan tries to keep from laughing as Condoleezza Rice tells America that a Romney/Ryan ticket will allow our allies in the world to "trust us" once again:

Condi Rice -- a top adviser in the most disastrous, reputation-crippling foreign-policy administration in decades -- has no business lecturing anybody on this score...

According to a recent survey by the Poll Research Center, 53 percent of British citizens had a favorable view of the United States in 2008, the last year of Bush's presidency. Today the figure is 60 percent. In France, the figure rose from 42 percent to 69 percent; the Czech Republic, from 45 to 54 percent; Germany, from 31 to 52 percent; Japan, from 50 to 72 percent; Mexico, from 47 to 56 percent. Only in the Arab countries (Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan) has the rating declined (and do the Republicans really care much about that?).

Another Pew Poll, released just this week, about global attitudes toward President Obama as a leader makes Rice's concerns seem ridiculous. As summarized by CNN, 87 percent of the Germans, 86 percent of the French, 80 percent of the British, and 74 percent of the Japanese have confidence in Obama--in each case, more confidence than they have in their own leaders. More striking still, 92 percent of the French, 89 percent of the Germans, 73 percent of the British, and 66 percent of the Japanese want Obama re-elected.

What does Condi Rice know about Obama's reputation in the world that the citizens of the world don't?

It's also worth noting that Obama's foreign-policy marks aren't just good abroad, but they are good at home too. I understand that it's Rice job to make the case that Americans have somehow gotten the wrong idea. But there's something amazing about watching Rice, who was at the center of some of the greatest foreign policy debacles in recent history, make that case. It's like the video above never happened.