Obama at G20

On the eve of the G20 summit in London, French president Sarkozy has threatened to leave his chair empty (ie boycott) the meeting if there is not a strong agreement on greater international regulation of the global financial markets than President Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown favor.

Some have suggested that this is Sarcozy's posturing for home political consumption. Nevertheless, it introduces a tension into Obama's first international meeting and will test his diplomatic skills.

The controversy is not only about what to do to fix the crisis but also stems from the French, and to a lesser extent, the German wish to place the blame for the crisis on the U.S. and its cavalier attitude toward the rest of the world under george bush.

Unlike his predecessor, however, Obama is playing it cool. As reported in the U.K. 's Daily Telegraph, one of his aides emphasized his willingness to regulate hedge funds and clamp down on offshore tax havens.

Michael Forman, Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor, also indicated that President Obama

"believed the United States should accept much of the blame for the economic crisis.". . .

"He talks about the era of irresponsibility. So I don't think we are at all averse to having an open dialogue about the causes of this crisis. The causes are many, they're not limited to the U.S. But we're not here to be defensive or to shirk any responsibility.

I know the Republicans will accuse him of weakness and giving in to the Europeans, but I think a conciliatory approach is called for.

First of all, we are responsible for much of the global problem. And secondly we need to give, as well as get, cooperation with our allies. It's hard enough to solve our own financial crisis, and we cannot do it isolated from the global system.

How this turns out will do much to set the tone for renewing our position in world opinion.

Ralph