Obama's Cairo Speech: My favorite flavor cherry red.

After poring over reviews spanning the editorial spectrum, I'm reminded of the classic Stones song "You can't always get what you want." Those on the left, Electronic Ali and Angry Arab are prominent in this group, justly criticize it for not extending past platitudes and for its light treatment of Israel. (Specifically, his lecturing about the holocaust and failure to mention the war on Gaza.) Right wing critics, who can't line up as much against the president for trying to repair Bush, nagged about his lack of the word terror, the absence of a new policy, referring to Bush's Iraq War as a conflict of choice, and apologizing to Arabs. Of course, he didn't apologize outright, but the US has more than a few mea culpas when it comes to American policy in the region.

There isn't a fresh policy initiative in his speech, which is accurate. However, as I mentioned below, I think this is a tactic in Obama's strategy to soften the image of the US and ease the cultural divide that, while existing long before, sprouted after 9/11 and the Clash of Civilizations thesis was accepted on a popular level. (I'd argue that in American culture, Samuel Huntington's argument was still relatively distinct from common-place discussions until the attacks.) In other words, what we're seeing is the new policy direction with language and a presence unlike any American president.

No president or secretary of state has spoken strongly on the settlements. As critics point out, the issue with the settlements isn't limited to new construction. On the contrary, it's the settlements as a whole. Obama's forceful language won't mean anything if he doesn't back the bluster up with action. He needs to deliver and demonstrate conviction. A fair amount of the comments from random folks and pundits in the Middle East center on the fact that they've heard this talk before, which is true. If he backs it up with action and plays hardball with Binny, fashions a workable Palestinian state that doesn't shun Hamas (Hamas has shown willingness to alter its adamant anti-Israeli stance), and withdraws from Iraq as planned, he can do a lot to improve his and the US' image. In twenty years, we might be able to look back at this as a turning point. I'm not so sure whether my rosy dream will reach fruition, but Obama has one of the best chances.

Oh, and the claim that anyone who wasn't Bush would have gotten the same reception is nonsense. You're telling me that McCain would have gone to Cairo and been the subject of such attention and adoration? Not likely. That's as ridiculous as saying there was no difference between McCain and Obama. It was far more than a choice between the lesser of two evils.

It looks like we're headed for an interesting election in Iran. Farshid Moussavi attracted an impressive following and, apparently, won a televised debate against a somewhat befuddled Ahmadinejad.