And I think it's not an accident that both political candidates running for president now have talked about the need to work multi-laterally and to work more closely with other nations and to kind of reintegrate the United States into the international fabric because there has been damage to America's reputation.

NPR: Role of U.S. Changing in New World Order

The company's Asia president is not averse to using technology, however, and he now uses chat room sessions to broaden his communication channels with staff.

CNN: Spending quality time with staff

But Mr Milinkevic could not claim that he had won the vote, as Viktor Yushchenko, now Ukraine's president, did in last winter's stand-off in Kiev.

ECONOMIST: Another meaningless victory for the president of Belarus

President Obama's goal, by contrast, is not to cut any spending in the here and now, only sometime in the "out years, " to use the Washington phrase, presumably when he'll be out of office.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: Obamageddon