Senator John McCain unloaded on President Barack Obama’s comments that “…whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower” saying “it’s one of the more incredible statements I’ve ever heard a president of the United States make in modern times.” McCain appeared to be at a loss of words before he launched into 1-minute segment that finished with him saying that Obama’s view was a “direct contradiction to everything that America believes in.”
The White House insists that’s not what Obama meant. The Daily Caller’s Jon Ward reports:
One of Obama’s top advisers said the president was not expressing a reluctance to play the leadership role in the world that the U.S. has held for the last several decades.
“He was saying we are the global superpower. Like it or not that means that we are going to have to play a role,” said Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications.
“It was not speaking about not wanting to play that role,” Rhodes said. “The United States should continue to play that unique role as the global superpower that underpins global security. He basically was saying that the reason we should be proactive in trying to prevent conflicts and resolve conflicts is because our role as superpower we’re going to get involved.”
The comment will be fodder for those who think the president does not believe in the idea of American exceptionalism, the notion that U.S. global dominance is inherently a good thing because it restrains tyrants and promotes human rights and democracy.
[flashvideo file=https://dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/mccain_obama.flv /]