President Barack Obama comments in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 25, 2009, on the importance of the passing of the energy bill. (AP)

“It is my deeply held belief,” Barack Obama told the United Nations General Assembly, that “in the year 2009 — more than at any point in human history — the interests of nations and peoples are shared.” That is of course the year Obama became president, and he wasn’t shy about referring in his second paragraph to “the expectations that accompany my presidency around the world,” though he assured us they “are not about me.”

Before Obama’s speech, I wrote that he seems “stuck in a time warp in which the United States is the bad guy.” Not any more, he seemed to say in his U.N. speech. He has ordered the closing of Guantanamo. He has prohibited the use of torture. He is “responsibly ending” the war in Iraq (no triumphalist talk of victory). He is promising substantial reductions in U.S. nuclear weapons. He has invested $80 billion in clean energy. The United States has joined the United Nations’ Human Rights Council.

All of which is a way of saying that nasty George W. Bush is no longer around with all his self-righteous swagger, and that with (as Obama did not fail to note) the first African-American installed in the White House, America is now on the same page with the rest of the world.

From WSJ Opinion Journal

President Obama surprised the world yesterday with an unannounced visit to Baghdad, where he met Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and praised the courage and perseverance of America’s troops. But the most pleasant surprise has been Mr. Obama’s near-about face on Iraq since becoming President.

Speaking to GIs in one of Saddam Hussein’s old palaces, Mr. Obama ticked off America’s accomplishments in Iraq: “From getting rid of Saddam, to reducing violence, to stabilizing the country, to facilitating elections — you have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country. That is an extraordinary achievement.”

The President also stressed the importance of a responsible troop withdrawal, calling the next 18 months a “critical period” for the country. He’s right. A recent spate of car bombings in Baghdad may not represent a trend — overall levels of violence remain at post-invasion lows — but they are a reminder that Iraq will continue to need a stabilizing American presence.

This is rich! This guy never ceases to amaze, anti-war in the run up to getting the nomination of his Party, Complete withdrawal while running for president to the public (phased over 18 moths but that number fluctuated daily with most of his supporters believing he’d order a complete withdrawal in the first six months of his admin. ), and now after basically taking credit for the “extraordinary achievement.” in Iraq  he’s calling the next 18 months a “critical period” ?

The many Faces of Barack indeed!