Obama 'Kowtowing' to Iran: Kristol

President Obama’s recent address to Iran isn’t just weak, and it doesn’t just backpedal—it’s flat out “kowtowing,” William Kristol writes in the Weekly Standard. Unlike President Bush, Obama shows minimal respect for the Iranian people. Instead, he focuses on extending an olive branch to their repressive leaders. “He believes that we should speak nicely to our enemies, and carry no stick.”

By his repeated use of the country’s proper name, the Islamic Republic of Iran—a “regime that is anything but republican"—Obama is “implicitly forswearing any plan—any hope—of regime change to free the Iranian people,” writes Kristol. Obama’s failure to mention the international call for Iran to stop its nuclear program has already emboldened the country. After this, “who in the world will have respect for President Obama?” (More President Obama stories.)