Obama's World Tour strikes me as strong evidence that Obama has a realistic appreciation of America's role in the modern world.

The ethic underpinning the American system is that the government is accountable to the people. Nowadays we enjoy saying that America is the leader of the Free World, and if that's the case, then by our own principles, America is accountable to the world.

Bush tried to exploit the power without accountability--he tried to dictate to the rest of the world in disregard of the principles of democracy. His idea of leadership resembled dictatorship, and doing so while giving lipservice to accountability domestically created a perception in the world that America has a double standard--Americans have rights and have a say in governance, while everybody else was essentially a subject in the American empire and had better just shut up and follow orders.

Obama seems to get it. His trip acknowledges that an American President who presumes to call himself the Leader of the Free World has an obligation to go before the people of the world and justify himself and his actions. When you claim global leadership you have an obligation to extend the same principles and consideration to everybody in the world, not just Americans. The sauce of democracy is good for the gander as well as the goose.

It was once written that a just government derives its power from the consent of the governed. While non-Americans can't vote in American elections and formally give their consent, Obama's doing the next best thing: His reception overseas demonstrates that much of the world would consent to being led by Obama. That huge crowd in Berlin is a concrete sign of his legitimacy and credibility, and pays homage to fundamental American principles.