Do we really have a chance to change the world? We do and its possible we are or shall I say Obama is and we can emulate.

As reported by the Miami Herald

“[Obama] listened with an extraordinary patience, and he was intellectually elegant in his responses.” – Chilean Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez

“I can’t recall a U.S. president who has sustained such an open-minded dialogue with the region.” – Argentinean Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana

Naturally, all this articulate, respectful diplomacy means one of two things.

One: We are blindly kowtowing to all sorts of scummy, evil forces of the underworld and undermining America’s godlike supremacy, and soon will be overrun by drug lords and baby rapists and fat, sweaty, cigar-chomping socialists who love to coddle baby-raping drug lords. This is known as the “Fox News angle.” Also known as the “Hysteria Special,” and also, simply, “The Limbaugh.”

Option two: We are about to make extraordinary progress in the world, as we set a new tone of intelligent cooperation in our foreign policy, restoring much of the respect and international goodwill Bush so grossly destroyed, as we finally step back up to the adult’s table, not as the domineering father figure everyone fears for his drunken, violent tirades, but as the kind of elegant intellect and influential peacemaker everyone wants to emulate.

That last thing? About emulation? I think that’s the most potentially transformative thing of all.

See, we all know the idea of how Obama’s raising everyone’s game. It’s barely 100 days in and already people speak glowingly of the Age of Obama, how the calm, constructive vibe he exudes like a beacon is actually changing people’s everyday behaviors, redirecting our attention from violence and rancor and overconsumption toward something a little bit lighter, smarter, less fear obsessed, more respectful or even just simply nicer. The bastard.

Upon which we can propose a slightly radical amendment: What if it’s not just us? What if it’s not merely most of America whose behaviors and attitudes will shift and lift accordingly?

What if, as evidenced by the Summit of the Americas, it’s also various prominent world leaders, many of whom formerly loathed or mistrusted the U.S., who suddenly see this highly intelligent, hugely popular, peacemaking U.S. president as worthy of stepping up and emulating? These are massive, tremulous egos we’re talking about. Most of these guys want what Obama has achieved so effortlessly: the deep admiration and trust of his people, near-instantaneous global respect, the power to transform the planet.

What if Obama’s genuine, Zen-like example proves an irresistible lure, as various leaders of the world see that you actually can govern successfully, not via the Bush method of coercion, dishonesty, misprision, antagonism and megalomania, but instead by way of respect and intellectual engagement and minimal drama, by actually not speaking down to your enemies or your own citizens alike?

What if, simply put, many of these guys begin to raise their games, calm the hell down and rise to the occasion of the Obama Era? Is that nothing short of changing the world?

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Mark Morford’s Notes & Errata column appears every Wednesday and Friday on SFGate.com. To get on the e-mail list for this column, please click here and remove one article of clothing. To get on Mark’s personal (i.e.; non-Chronicle) mailing list (appearances, books, readings, blogs, yoga and more), please click here and remove two more.

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