Obama’s Race Speech and the Middle East Posted by Shawn Brimley

A shout-out to fellow Democracy blogger Shadi for an excellent piece in today's Washington Post on Senator Obama's speech on race and what it could mean for the Middle East. Two of many great passages:

"We can call these people enemies and say they are lost to us. It would be easy, because these views are indeed reprehensible. Or we can articulate a new strategy, one which, without condoning violence, acknowledges their grievances and their very real sense of being wronged by history. We can seek to better understand why the Middle East has become a graveyard of shattered hopes and an open wound that threatens world security. And we can work to address the unacceptable fact that, while much of the rest of the world moves forward, many Arab and Muslim populations live in economic misery under brutal autocratic regimes -- many of which the U.S. supports with foreign aid."

"On Tuesday, watching his speech from Jordan, I felt for the first time in a while that we could begin coming to terms with the past and accounting for the injustices committed against those at home, and those abroad, who are waiting to see what America will do next."

Millions of Americans regardless of political affiliation were very impressed by the speech, and congrats to Shadi on explaining how and why what we say to each other here at home can help us abroad.

Comments

[Don Bacon]

Helena Cobban has an upcoming book -- Re-engage! America and the World After Bush -- which has been well received. Re-engage! is a hopeful book. It shows how all U.S. citizens, not just those with advanced degrees in international relations, can start thinking about-- and acting upon-- the new kinds of challenge that face our country and the rest of the world today.

[dblue]

If any news commentator in the US mentioned this part of the address, I didn't hear it. For me, It is this world view of Obama's that is most appealing about his candidacy. Pundits and bloggers talk about his lack of specifics, but you can only be so specific about actions when you are about to take them. This vagueness on specific details along with explanations of how he thinks and approaches issues is exactly why I like him. He is ready to ask questions about what will be the effect on ALL people involved. This will make it more difficult to implement some actions (and make some people disappointed in the end that they didn't get ALL they wanted), but I believe overall we will be better off for his approach. He will try to assist us all in doing the greatest good for the greatest number. In doing so, the outcome will make make the US safer and a better partner in the world's affairs. Submitted by a 62 y/o white woman, US citizen, nurse, and soon to be grandmother.

[Payday Loans]

His speech is really impressive, you can feel the power he have and courage to bring out America in this crisis. Your payday loan source brings you some news on the political front. There is some growing dissention in the Democrats, as some party members haven't reacted favorably to the Obama speech on the economy. The dissent comes over Obama's plan for tax cuts, and a broad economic stimulus package, making a payday loan of sorts to the public. In other Presidential news, Obama has been declared the official winner of the November election, and he was also recently depicted in an issue of Spider Man, where Obama and Spiderman are apparently on good terms.

[luxury watches]

I am so with you,rolex watch
luxury watch