By criticizing President Bush’s aggressive anti-terrorist policies in his Cairo speech, did President Obama increase or decrease our standing in the world? That depends on which part of the world we are talking about. If we divide the world into problem-solvers and dichotomous noise-makers, he clearly decreased our standing among the noise-makers. America is less of a tough guy and less scary. Among many who believe that solving problems requires more than just “Kill the bad guy” he showed a more guts than President Bush ever did. Whether the assassinations and stepped up drone strikes now make President Obama appear hypocritical is a separate but important issue.