This is "smart power," just in case you forgot.
Remember how the dumb, inarticulate cowboy diplomacy was going to be replaced by the smartest and most sophisticated 3D Chess diplomacy from the Ivy League ("We are the ones we've been waiting for")?
So imagine for a moment that this transpired with a Republican in office. We'd be hearing nonstop about how the Nuclear Club had grown as a direct result of the president's incompetence, blah blah blah ad infinitum.