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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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 OPINION 
4

Obama Plays Shrink to Europe: Dowd

President brings "psychological finesse" to the G20

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(Newser) – Therapists could learn a thing or two from the "psychological finesse" Barack Obama showed in Europe this week, Maureen Dowd writes in the New York Times. Obama's upbringing taught him how to "slip in and out of different worlds," and that legacy was on display at the G20 conference as he turned the "the bluster and insecurities of other politicians" to his advantage.

Whether posing for a goofy photo with Silvio Berlusconi or praising Nicolas Sarkozy's courage, Obama acted like a good shrink, "flattering his subjects and sussing them out." After years of false certainty and bravado from the "Bush chuckleheads," Obama showed Europe that he's ready to listen. And while the US may have a had a weak hand going into the G20, now "that America can’t put everyone under its thumb, a thumbs-up and a killer smile can go a long way. "

Barack Obama makes opening remarks at a town hall style meeting in Strasbourg, France, April 3, 2009. The event showed European leaders
Barack Obama makes opening remarks at a town hall style meeting in Strasbourg, France, April 3, 2009. The event showed European leaders "that many of their constituents are also his," says Dowd.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Audience members made up of German, French, and some American students try to get Obama's attention as he takes questions at a town hall style meeting in Strasbourg, France, April 3, 2009.
Audience members made up of German, French, and some American students try to get Obama's attention as he takes questions at a town hall style meeting in Strasbourg, France, April 3, 2009.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama speaks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown before a military ceremony in Strasbourg, France, during the NATO summit, Saturday, April 4, 2009.
President Barack Obama speaks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown before a military ceremony in Strasbourg, France, during the NATO summit, Saturday, April 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Barack Obama, second left, walks with Angela Merkel, third left, Nicolas Sarkozy, fourth left, Gordon Brown, center and other leaders during the NATO summit, April 4, 2009.
Barack Obama, second left, walks with Angela Merkel, third left, Nicolas Sarkozy, fourth left, Gordon Brown, center and other leaders during the NATO summit, April 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Barack Obama smiles with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during a group photo at the G20 Summit in the Excel Centre in London, April 2, 2009.
Barack Obama smiles with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during a group photo at the G20 Summit in the Excel Centre in London, April 2, 2009.   (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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[Obama] may not have come away with all he wanted substantively. His hand was too weak going in...But he showed a psychological finesse that has been missing from American leadership for a long time. - Maureen Dowd

He can enter your space and organize your thoughts without necessarily revealing his own concerns and conflicts. - Charles J. Ogletree Jr., Harvard law professor and Obama mentor

The son of an anthropologist, [Obama] developed a lot of “tricks,” as he put it, training himself to be a close observer of human nature, figuring out what others needed so he could get where he wanted to go. - Maureen Dowd

Gabriel Byrne’s brooding psychoanalyst on 'In Treatment' might envy Barack Obama’s calming psychoanalysis in Europe.
- Maureen Dowd

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4 comments
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Lula
Apr 5, 09 10:06 AM CDT
What a breath of fresh air. Reply
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Derni
Apr 5, 09 12:12 PM CDT
Its nice to have a real leader in charge=someone that listens-will be firm whenneeded and wants to work with other nations and not make us out to be the "Ugly American." Reply
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NutsInNY
Apr 5, 09 1:41 PM CDT
This is more good news about Obama's talents... (Albeit this article presents a strange notion of what 'good shrinks' do -- e.g., "flattering his subjects".) Reply
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sailor86
Apr 5, 09 9:46 PM CDT
I didn't detect one iota of inner resentful bias in this article. Good work, Newser. Reply
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