By Bob Morgan, Jr.

After a 3400 mile road trip with the lad through the South to New Orleans and back, a return to the real world...

President Obama's domestic policy is a source of great angst among his critics, who are very alarmed by the Administration's attempt to concentrate power in the federal government and its willingness to allow enormous deficits. Even feints to the right by the President, such as last week's call for very modest spending cuts, are dismissed as political posturing.

The foreign policy picture, however, is a much more mixed bag, with some things to like, and dislike, for both the President's usual supporters and critics.

Probably the single biggest source of relief for foreign policy hardliners usually skeptical of Mr. Obama has been the willingness of Mr. Obama to preside over an orderly rather than hasty retreat from Iraq, and to leave a residual force of 35-50,000 troops. Iraq has obviously made significant political and security progress since 2007, but the situation is still fragile. Mr. Obama's critics can take considerable solace that the White House recognizes that the importance of maintaining these gains, while continuing the fight to stabilize Afghanistan.

In some ways, the recent pirate case also sends reassuring signals about the Obama Administration to its hawkish critics. The United States, and the President himself, showed a willingness to use force in defense of American interests and American citizens. A protracted standoff with the pirates would have reinforced doubts about the credibility of the United States.

Also, Mr. Obama has continued a number of policies of the George W. Bush Administration that came under fire from the left. For example, the Obama Administration recently asserted the harshly criticized "state secret" privilege previously asserted by Mr. Bush's Justice Department in a case relating to eavesdropping of suspected terrorists. In addition, the Obama Administration position on the rights (or lack of them) of detainees at Bagram, Afghanistan is very similar or identical to the one asserted by the Bush Administration in respect of prisoners at the Guantanamo prison, even though Mr. Obama has announced the closing of the Guantanamo facility. Also, the Obama White House has continued flying drone planes into Taliban dominated areas of Pakistan.

Still, critics of the Mr. Obama have much they do not like. The previous mentioned closing of Guantanamo begs the question of exactly what will be done with the more dangerous detainees lodged there. Many supporters of Israel are discomfited by the Administration's expressed willingness to pursue vigorously a Palestinian state without a recognition from the Palestinians of Israel as a Jewish state.

But in many ways, Mr. Obama's critics are as concerned with the symbolism of the Administration's message as with specific policies. In his foreign trips, Mr. Obama has on occasion apologized for his country, something that enemies can view as a sign of weakness. And Mr. Obama was photographed last week in a smiling handshake with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, widely regarded as a bad actor on the world stage. Former speaker Newt Gingrich observed that "everywhere in Latin America, enemies of America are going to use the picture of Chavez smiling and meeting with the president as proof that Chavez is now legitimate, that he's acceptable."

It is still very early, but the Obama foreign policy is likely both to encourage and rankle observers across the political spectrum.