Obama not insulting, but cheering India: Wall Street Journal

Observing that the "truth-telling" of US President Barack Obama "evidently pricked the thin skin of India's politicians", a leading American financial daily has said he is in fact "cheering" the Indian elite and not insulting them.

"It is no wonder foreign investors are appealing to their leaders for help against Delhi's protectionism. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong alluded to how these policies created a poor business climate during a Delhi visit last week, which follows concerns more openly voiced by the UK's George Osborne and US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

"If Mr Geithner's boss is now joining the chorus, it's because previous warnings have gone unheeded," The Wall Street Journal said in its editorial on Obama's remarks in an exclusive interview to PTI recently.

Obama's "truth-telling evidently pricked the thin skin of India's politicians. Right-wingers, centrists and communists united in attacking him for meddling in Indian affairs," the daily said.

The paper said some Indians may find it hard to accept Obama preaching liberalisation abroad when he campaigns against outsourcing jobs back home, and "it's true that this president often appears cynical. Washington dents its credibility every time it betrays free-market principles".

"Such hypocrisy doesn't mean that Delhi can ignore the truth in Obama's message, that India's standing in the world will fade without an open economic system," the daily said.

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