"New International Order"

Is that the antidote to the New World Order? Or is it the new New World Order?

President Barack Obama declared on Saturday the United States cannot act alone in the world and pledged to shape a new "international order" as part of a national security strategy to seal his break with Bush-era policies.

Setting out his vision for keeping America safe as it fights wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Obama stressed international engagement over predecessor George W. Bush's "cowboy diplomacy" and signaled his likely repudiation of Bush's justifications for pre-emptive war.

"The burdens of this century cannot fall on our soldiers alone, it also cannot fall on American shoulders alone," Obama told graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. "Our adversaries would like to see America sap its strength by overextending our power."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64L1WM20100522

Or by taxing its citizens into penury, or nationalizing whole industries, or by guaranteeing, on the public dollar, the pensions of unions that have contributed their pension funds to him, or by spending us all into penury, or by projecting his vision of weakness and indecision to our enemies, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

I was told a tale tonight by a manager at a federal agency who hired a purchasing agent. The purchasing agent was told the agency had $1.9 million to design and construct a new regional office. Foregoing competitive bidding he hired a minority-owned contractor. The minority contractor produced a design, an invoice for $300,000, and a proposal for $5.1 million in construction costs. While my friend was considering disciplinary action against his buyer, the Department of Labor awarded him a handsome bonus for contracting with a minority contractor even though that contractor had fleeced the federal agency out of $300,000! This is what passes for governance now. Is this hope or change? I can't really tell anymore...