Of course, Obama’s objection isn’t to physical walls but figurative ones. His real point is that the cult of unity that marked the worst excesses of his presidential campaign should go global. “Old arguments are irrelevant to the challenges faced by our people,” he says. Rather, “the interests of nations and peoples are shared.”
The problem with this notion of shared interests is not that it’s untrue, but that it’s a half-truth. Some interests are shared, others not. It was in Poland’s interest for us to honor our commitment on missile defense. Obama concluded that it was better for us to appease Russia’s interests.
A core attitude unites Obama’s domestic and foreign-policy visions: Principled disagreements are not legitimate if they do not conform to the president’s agenda, be it on health care domestically or global warming and nuclear disarmament internationally. Call it a progressive version of “if you’re not with us, you’re against us.”