But no less indicative in his rise was a pettiness that augured the destructive infighting of the administration and the Eurocentric foreign-policy mentality that indulged Nixon's pursuit of the Vietnam War, his obliviousness to tragedies from Bangladesh to Chile to Indonesia, and the policies in Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan that haunt us today.
This is because, despite Mr. Obama's assertion that all sides would benefit from peace, the idea of a win-win outcome is foreign to the tribal mentality.
Vatican II's spirit of inclusion and a desire to embrace the world with joyful hope rather than with the previous militant siege mentality is foreign and anathema to those who prefer dogmatic pronouncements from the hierarchy and blind obedience to their authority.
Taiwan's market still has something of a casino mentality, but foreign capital now accounts for 20% of the market, and its economy thrives on technology.
It speaks of the base of "its own graduates, Russian players and foreign players with a similar mentality.
This week, Celso Lafer, the foreign minister, attacked the "ostrich mentality" of those in Brazil, such as his former subordinate, who oppose its participation in the talks.
The mind-set of that time, when every decision you made was based on Christian duty and honor, was a foreign concept to a modern mentality.
A country in its own right for barely 10 years, Macedonia has developed a "bunker mentality," as one foreign aid official described it, feeling that it is surrounded by unfriendly powers.
With its dearth of foreign managers and obliviously Stone Age mentality, the Scottish Premierleague is way behind England in its attitudes to the demon and, let's face it, south of Gretna things are hardly abstemious.
"I've got a great group here, a good combination of English and foreign girls with a fantastic mentality and they're all winners.
