Obama presents himself as "Bridge-Builder"

LONDON-Where President George W. Bush was known for his "cowboy diplomacy,"U.S.President Barack Obama wants to be known as a listener and a builder of bridges.Taking his first turn on the world stage since taking office in January, Obama arrived in London two days ago for crisis talks on the global economy where he hoped to persuade other countries to spend more to revive global growth.Obama won no new promises of spending when the summit of the Group of 20 major economic powers wrapped up on Thursday, but put a positive spin on the outcome, calling it a "turning point" as he welcomed agreements on financial regulation and new cash for the International Monetary Fund.As financial markets rose on relief that the G20 summit had not ended in argument, Obama played up his role as a consensus-builder-an image he emphasized during his political rise in the United States."Each country has its own quirks and own particular issues that a leader may decide is really, really important, something that is non-negotiable for them," Obama told a news conference."And what we tried to do as much as possible was to accommodate those issues in a way that did not hamper the effectiveness of the overall document," he told the jam-packed room of both foreign and American journalists.Describing his approach to world affairs, Obama said America was a "critical actor and leader on the world stage," but that it exercises its clout best when it listens to other countries' concerns.Obama declined to make explicit comparisons between himself and President Bush, but the comments were intended to mark a contrast from what critics of Obama's predecessor said was a tendency towards a "go-it-alone" approach.
By Caren Bohan and Matt Spetalnick
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http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKTRE53183Q20090402?sp=true
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