At a DNC fundraiser today, President Barack Obama voiced a concern many Americans might now have. "[T]here’s a sense possibly that theworld is spinning so fast and nobody is able to control it," Obama told Democrats at the White Street Restaurant in New York, New York.
But Obama suggested that he has things under control.
I was here in New York just a couple weeks ago -- you noticed the traffic was even worse then -- during the United Nations General Assembly annual gathering of world leaders. And it's appropriate to talk a little bit on the front end about why this particular General Assembly was so indicative of America’s position in the world. There are times where I think in this country we doubt ourselves, and there are times when we're uncertain of all the changes that are taking place all across the globe. And understandably, when you see the headlines every single day and you read about ISIS and Ebola and the Russian incursions into Ukraine, there’s a sense possibly that the world is spinning so fast and nobody is able to control it. And yet if you look at what happened at the General Assembly on the terrorist group ISIS and the need to mobilize an international community to push back against their radical violence, it was the United States that mobilized that coalition both in the Middle East and around the world. When you look at Ebola, a humanitarian crisis in West Africa, but also a public health crisis that has the possibility of affecting people around the world, it was the United States that is committed to building the infrastructure that allows health workers to get in and start saving lives and making sure that children aren't dying on the streets. When it came to blunting Russian aggression, it was the United States that mobilized NATO countries and the world community to stand up for the principle that people are independent and have the ability to make their own decisions about their own lives and to seek freedom and prosperity on their own terms.
The commander in chief continued:
On climate change, it was the United States that led the way in continuing to mobilize the world community to reduce carbon emissions that are going to affect our kids and our grandchildren. On every single issue of importance, when there are challenges and there are opportunities around the world, it's not Moscow they call; it’s not Beijing. They call us. Because they understand that for all the challenges we sometimes face and the mistakes that we occasionally make, that America continues to be the one indispensable nation -- (applause) -- and that what we stand for –-- liberty and democracy and conservation and fairness and justice -- those are the things that people around the world aspire to and seek, and they expect the United States to be on their side. And that's something we can be very proud of. It's a burden. It means we do more than anybody else. We're asked to respond even by folks who are critical of us. People don't always appreciate the work that we do. But in the end, it's a burden that we bear proudly because it's part of what makes us American, and it's part of what that lady with the torch in the middle of the water means. It's part of what attracts people from every corner of the globe to this country, understanding that for all our flaws there’s something essential that we stand for that nobody else does, and we're willing to put our money and time and effort and resources and occasionally our lives on behalf of that.