Obama must show strength in foreign policy

But there were many detractors as well - including some very high profile ones, like former President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Wałęsa. Mr Wałęsa made no qualms about expressing his preference for Senator John McCain.

Mr Wałęsa was certainly not alone. Senator McCain's tough line with Russia and obvious dislike for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin go down well in Poland, where most will tell you that it's necessary to show strength in dealing with Russia and not an ounce of compromise, as it may be perceived as weakness.

In Moscow's dealings with other countries, that view can be seen as generally accurate. As if on cue, just hours after news of President-elect Obama's victory was reported, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave a high-profile speech in which he announced that Russia would be placing missiles in the Kaliningrad exclave, on Poland's northern border, aimed at the missile defense system to be built there by the US.

It's easy to see that this was meant as an immediate test of Mr Obama. It is well known that his resume is thin on foreign policy, and his willingness to hold low-level talks with Iranian officials - though sensible - was highly publicized and widely ridiculed.

But Mr Obama has sent signals that he could take a hard line on defending the US' national interest. For example, he has repeatedly expressed willingness to strike northern Pakistan without the approval of that country's government, if necessary, in order to kill Osama bin Laden or other high-level terrorists.

The carrot and the stick

It is this unique combination of level-headed pragmatism and stubborn defense of national interest that Mr Obama must employ in his dealings with Russia. While it is clear that Russia is flexing its muscles in its backyard because it yearns for a return to its days as a superpower, it is also doing so for fear of being encircled by NATO.

Mr Obama must make clear that NATO no longer sees Russia as an enemy and that the affinity of former Russian satellite states for the West has as much to do with Russia's aggressive foreign policy - such as using its energy resources to blackmail neighbors - as it does with the West's moves to draw them closer. He must tell Russia that countries like Ukraine and Georgia deserve to one day become members of NATO, not because it would allow the alliance to surround Russia, but because it would create an even stronger coalition of democratic allies, and that democracy in every country ought to be defended for its own sake. Russia may even be convinced that if it returns to the path of democracy, a close partnership with the alliance would be in its own best interest.

But the carrot cannot come without the stick. Mr Obama must use the goodwill he has won around the world to create alliances quickly in order to increase the US' muscle both diplomatically and militarily, to project immediate strength, and draw a line in the sand: Sovereign democracies may not be invaded - no matter whose sphere of influence they may lie within.

It is true that Russian governments respond to strength, and this one is no exception. But for too long it has perceived itself as being threatened by the US, and a weak one at that - Mr Obama must change both of these perceptions if the West is to avoid a new Cold War.