Free world needs a new leader, says Obama
US President George Bush has fallen short of his role as leader of the free world, and the 2008 election is a chance to change that, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama said today.
"This president may occupy the White House, but for the last six years the position of leader of the free world has remained open. And it's time to fill that role once more," Obama said, according to excerpts of his speech prepared for delivery to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
The foreign policy address was rescheduled last week after the shootings at Virginia Tech.
In his remarks, Obama said the world is disappointed in America.
"The disappointment that so many around the world feel toward America right now is only a testament to the high expectations they hold for us. We must meet those expectations again, not because being respected is an end in itself, but because the security of America and the wider world demands it," according to the speech.
