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Posted on 06/06/2009 3:52:14 AM PDT by Clive
The trouble with U.S. President Barack Obama's boffo speech in Cairo to the Muslim world was not what he said -- but that he said it.
To explain: The content was generally fair, rational, evenhanded and fitting for a moderator, arbitrator or neutral adjudicator.
But that's not what Obama is. He is, or should be, the embodiment of his country and its interests. When he appoints himself the go-between who sees all sides and takes no sides -- who chastises all conflicting parties equally and impartially -- he does a disservice to himself, his country and to truth.
His speech has generally been applauded. Superficially, at least.
But on reflection it was arrogant, condescending. A "father knows best" speech of moral and practical equivalency.
It was a speech that the world's moderate middle could relish and feel good about. But it was also a speech unlikely to appease extremist factions of any side. A speech that simply didn't ring true in many ways.
All civilizations are not equal. All cultures are not equal. Some are more benign than others, some more lethal. Some crueler and less deserving of tolerance.
Fine for Obama to stress the tolerant, benign nature of Islam, but whatever it was in the past it is not that tolerant or benign now -- and I'm not thinking of 9/11, or suicide bombers, or its bigotry towards women. Sunni and Shiites often cannot tolerate each other, and kill over the issue of who are the true followers of Mohammed.
Avoiding the word "terrorists," Obama chose the gentler word "extremists", which clouds what he's saying and softens the impact.
He slighted America by failing to mention that after 9/11, his countrymen showed remarkable generosity and grace by rejecting reprisals against Muslims and, in fact, going out of their way to absolve Muslims of blame.
There was nothing resembling the flavour of internment camps that were imposed on Japanese-Americans in the early days of the Second World War, when hysteria reigned.
MISLEADING
By his laboured impartiality, Obama seemed to imply that before his coming to presidential power, America was somehow lacking, negligent or derelict in generosity and decency. Nothing could be further from reality.
Stressing America's "unbreakable" bonds with Israel while pledging "we will not turn our backs" on the "intolerable" situation of Palestinians who endure "the daily humiliations that comes with occupation" is grotesquely misleading.
Good politics if it works, and effective diplomacy, but it's dishonest. Until the Arab countries attacked Israel in 1967, the West Bank and Gaza were "occupied" by Egyptians and Jordanians.
In his series of speeches around the world, Obama seemed intent on denigrating his own country by apologizing to other countries for its actions. Now he is setting himself up as the arbitrator and source of all wisdom in dealings with the Muslim world.
If he were UN secretary general rather than the president of the United States, his efforts might be more appropriate. But he isn't. Yet.
At least the Toronto Star is an Obamaniac -- witness its headline: "A speech that might change the world." Hmm. Wanna bet?
Hardliners around the world are unlikely to buy Obama's message. How he handles the next terrorist incident will be his big test
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Because he is deeply flawed he thinks everyone else is too.
he should be here apologizing to us for lying about his citizen status and inability to hold the office he is in right now. This nations federal govt is turning into a fraud.
Americans have never before been so embarrassed by their President and country.
Obama is rumored to be planning to apologize for all the American graves which clutter up France’s landscape.
In his rush to impartiality, he must have forgotten to mention the young soldier murdered in Little Rock the day before by.......not a Baptist, not a Methodist, not a Jew, not a Catholic, but a radical Muslim who had trained in Yemen and was intent on killing Americans in the name of religon. (Why havent I heard anyone mention “hate crime?”)
WE all know what he'll do: nothing.
To be honest, I don’t think the speech was all that bad. The real problem is that you can’t turn a speech into a policy when the policy has got to reconcile two diametrically opposed interests—namely, the interest of Israel in safety and the interest of the Palestinians in a homeland. My suspicion is that in the end, Obama’s approach leads to Israel’s demise.
The person in the White House is an embarassment to the country and the world.
Agree ... the President should be saying “God Bless America” not “God D___ America” ... but he is saying the latter in every speech ... don’t tell me 20 years with the dear Rev Wright didn’t affect him. This man hates this country, how did the dumb masses ever elect him. A year ago I couldn’t have imagined a President “dissing” the USA and not being proud of it. This is getting more shocking every day.
Obama does a disservice to the U.S. just by showing up.
He will try to figure out why they don't like us and will then try to change things so they do like us. Solutions? 1) Submit to islam 2) Convert to islam 3) Be killed by islam. He will then ask Congress which they want to do. I think they will go for 1 with a strong recommendation for 2.
The fluff he mentioned did not get to the heart of the problem -- The way muzzl'ems treats other people, religions, and women.
“A “father knows best” speech of moral and practical equivalency.”
Typical liberal arrogance. He belives America is too great, needs to tone her down.
To undermine the devastating attack on 9/11 by suggesting the three terrorists waterboarded was as terrible as the attack itself just sickened me.
And to go on and denigrate the freeing of Iraq from a vicious despot was simply a war of choice, clearly not ‘his’ choice was unforgivable.
He admitted to hanging out with America haters in his books while in college. Add 20 years of Reverend Wright, marrying Michelle...
Rush is right. This is an angry man.
Mad Madeline Albright said she was worried about America being the only superpower.
Little did she know that a muslim president would soon do all in his power to remedy that concern.
The whole Muslim world was clued in with that one phrase. Lord have mercy.....
Would surprise me like not at all
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