Well, all I can say is Obama sure threw Israel under the bus.

Brian, not to be self-congratulatory but I did a smart thing and before I heard or read someone else's spin on President Obama's speech, I read the entire text, all 6000 words. Personally, I thought it was one of the best and most nuanced speeches that I have read of any President. Only later did I hear the usual suspects attack it from every angle. I was glad that I actually read it first and knew its tone and context.

While many of my friends worried that he would apologize again or appear weak, I thought he was firm and strong. Indeed, this speech reminded me of the reason why I voted for Obama.

If only, he would use this same “pull no punches” attitude on the economy and blow up the boxes of the Pelosi-Reid-Frank alliance of political cronyism. Perhaps President Obama doesn’t realize it but he has a great opportunity here, because of his immense popularity, to truly reform government and create a new standard of care and efficiency.
It is speeches like these that make believe that we can come back meet our challenges but only if he follows up with actions. So I will go ahead and suggest that improbable: President Obama should leave the Democratic Party and reform government based upon principles and not party doctrine. If he continues to listen to the same old tired Pelosi-Reid-Frank ideas, he will waste a precious opportunity to be a great leader.

Martin

He said all well, but who is going to take care of Kashmiries, who are fighting for freedom for more then sixy years???

The only angle I'd like to add that I haven't seen much in press, (Maybe, I missed it) is the President was speaking to the middle east street in the lead up to two key events.

1st. Lebanese election which started today.
2nd Iranian elections on June 12th.

While the speech may or may not impact voting, I think it was worth a try.

Scott,

How do you think his speech might influence elections in the middle east?

That is a tough question to answer and I'm not an expert on middle eastern comparative politics. However, Lebanese Prime Minister Saniora just declared victory in the election over the Shiite Hezbollah coalition this evening according to AP.

If the projections are correct, that is not a bad result at all.

I happened to catch a clip of the Iranian debate between Mir Hossein Mousavi and Ahmadinejad on CNN today. Mousavi openly criticized Ahmadinejad for isolating Iran.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, Mousavi is seeing a "surge of enthusiasm", but whether that translates into electoral victory remains to be seen.

What I found fascinating about the speech was what wasn't said. The President did not address the Iranian situation to my knowledge. This is speculation on my part, but the President is probably being quiet so as not to give Ahmadinejad anything to hang his hat on during this election.

While the clerics are in control of Iran, if the de-emphasis votes out Ahmadinejad for a more moderate Iranian President, I think that bodes well for the US as well.

Unless we obey and follow our leaders blindly we can never be free.

Scott,

Thanks for drawing my attention to this issue. Looks like you called it. What drew your attention to the Lebanese elections?

I don't think any country wants to exist as a violent novelty. That's why Lebanon voted against Hezbollah just as We voted against the Republicans. The same will happen in Iran as long as Diebold isn't counting the ballots.

I don't think the President's speech Provided any new information. President Obama's speech may have given some reason to believe; if they vote against the radical false prophets, they might get help if the losers becomes violent.

I am not sure how President Obama's almost childlike trust in all living things is going to help in the Middle East but I guess we will find out.

RAS:

I appreciate that, but I didn't really "call it." The election was in the press, but wasn't really put in a broader context, to my knowledge, of what the President was seeking to accomplish this past week.

We have the Iranian election coming up and my hope is Iranian voters give Ahmadinejad the boot.

"Facts are stubborn things," John Adams once said.

This would be particularly so if everyone in the world is very aware of them and they are at the root of over half of a century of conflict. So, if he is going to preserve even a shred of credibility for his nation, his office and himself, Obama may as well admit the truth.

That is a first step needed to move forward and reduce the conflict.

By the way, while Obama is busy apologizing to the Islamic world about all the terrible things America has done to them, he would do good by condemning, or even acknowledging, the cold-blooded murder of 23-year-old Private William Long, the military recruiter who was shot by a domestic, Islamic, terrorist, nut job outside an Army recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas.

After all, he did work for the military that Obama is Commander-in-Chief of.

Cairo Catastrophe,

Before you viciously attack the President of The United States you should check your facts. Our President has already released a statement over his condolences to the family.

You shouldn't use the murder of an American service member to launch a sleazy attack that isn't even factually accurate.

I guess it isn't a surprise you don't want to use your real name when you use the murder of an innocent American to smear the president.

Maybe you should try some website where people aren't informed or so naive to believe the worst they don't use google to check your smears.

You should do the honorable thing and correct your glaring mistake.

Your abuse of freedom of speech makes your ideas of political debate something best run out of the offices of the NKVD or North Korea.

Come back when you are willing to use your real name.

I apologize of course if you are just plain ignorant and believed a lie told to you by some right wing smear site. Feel free to tell us who duped you.

If my comments seem harsh it is because your partisan attack is not only inaccurate it is shrill and disgusting.

You should admit your mistake and address the speech in Cairo instead of trying to tear down our President with partisan propaganda.

http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0609/628585.html

I'll do nothing of the sort, you self-righteous twit! Who do you think you are coming off and criticizing my right to express my opinion, based on, yes, fact? You've been sipping the Kool-Aid for way too long, buddy.

How long did it take your beloved President to even acknowledge the shooting death of an innocent member of the armed forces? This happened days after the attack.

What a loser Obama is! He's done nothing but run our country further into debt with his giveaways to all the welfare queens, corporate failures, and union bosses he can find. Our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will be paying for this for years to come.

Are you happy about that too?

Cairo Catastrophe,

Thanks for admitting you falsely attacked the president for not acknowledging the murder when you now argue it wasn't quick enough. That is a huge flip flop in your attempted trashing of our President.

The White House had a statement within a few days once most of the facts were clear. That seems like a reasonable thing to do. Your first comment wasn't truthful when you falsely alleged The White House didn't acknowledge the crime.

You admitted you were wrong that no statement had been issued. I am not surprised you are angry at being called out for your blunder. Stop being duplicitous in your partisan sliming of our President.

People like you ruin real debates and conversations for interjecting false talking points into thought provoking exchanges of ideas.

http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0609/628585.html

Cairo,

Just imagine how embarrassing running for city council is going to be for you. All your lies and stupidity will have your real name attached to it.

Do your your Father in law a favor and don't waste his money.

Cairo!

Let's stop perpetuating the myth that Obama's responsible for the bailouts. he's not. That was something that Bush, in typical Far Right political sleaziness, did to saddle the incoming administration with a national mess.

Like his Father did in Serbia and Somalia, before handing those messes over to Clinton (along with massive deficits) your sort of folk are like the guests who use the toilet, never flush, and then blame the floating turd on the next guy.

You and yours had 8 years in control of Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, international good will (at least at the start) and unimpeded use of the military and the Treasury....and you left America far worse off than when you arrived.

If you take a dump...clean it up for the next guy. That's all America asks of you.

GS, you can stop blaming Bush now for all the world's problems. Your guy is in office now and he is the one who has proposed a $3.4 trillion budget for next year that includes $1.8 trillion in deficit spending. That's $1.8 trillion that your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will be saddled with. Have fun explaining to them that the guy you put in office has mortgaged their future.

Obama should spend less time apologizing for America's faults, which, by the way, radical Islam is having a hearty laugh over right now, and more time dealing with our economic issues at home. The jihadists respect toughness and resolve. They don't hold any regard for these namby-pamby speeches about how we are all brothers and we should just hug and sing Kumbaya and everything will be OK.

GS,

I really like the analogy: both graphically arresting and clearly appropriate.

Have you ever thought of writing as a livelihood?

Harold...I already do.

Cairo...You would LOVE to have everyone stop blaming Bush because you and people like you helped him steer the Nation into the mess its in. Now you want everyone to forget that you guys skipped out on the bill. And now you're blaming Obama for making good on YOUR expenses and for trying to clean up YOUR mess??? incredible!!!

I'm always amazed how loudly all you big, strong Fair Weather Patriots whine whenever a less-than-rabid right conservative admits that America's done something wrong (and in reality, Obama was simply admitting that Bush & Company screwed up royally though that fact went right over Rush Limbaugh's fat head). Man up for once and admit that we screwed up in the MidEast! Even an alcoholic has to admit he's got a problem before he can make things right.

Obama's speech was probably the reason Lebanon's election swung solidly to the pro-Western forces. If that's ALL that his speech accomplished it's a lot better than spending $50B each month to liberate the Lebanese to death...as you and Bush tried to do in Iraq, to disastrous results.

It's also nice to have heard our national leader speak in complete sentences.

And one last thing, Cairo....Independence Day is fast approaching so remember to take time out to honor the day that the Nation remembers when Liberal Americans turned their backs on King and Conservatives. God Bless America and the Liberals who founded it!

Blaming Bush is a convenient escape valve for Mr. Obama, who is in the process of running what's left of our capitalist society into the dirt. His so-called "stimulus plan" is not working and even his top level economic advisors, like Lawrence Summers, are admitting this.

Obama may speak in complete sentences, but he is forgetting who is at the receiving end of his speeches these days. It's not his adoring law students at Harvard. It's not his worhshipping throngs on the campaign trail. It's not even all the swooning members of the media.

He is now speaking on the world stage. Foreign leaders and the international press are listening very carefully to what he's saying and the policy statements he's making. He is also being scrutinized very carefully by the Arab world and, particularly, the Islamic fundamentalists, who have been interpreting his conciliatory comments in Cairo and elsewhere as signs of weakness.

I certainly hope that he will be adequately prepared when it comes time to defend this nation against the next terrorist attack - because it's coming.

Bush isn't just an escape valve...he's the worst thing to happen to this nation since the Civil War and we now have to clean up the mess left by his disastrous eight years in office.

Summers can go suck on a red hot poker because he's an arsehole. Anyone that is ready to judge Obama's stimulus plan (which DOES NOT include Bush's bailouts) before it's even implemented is a fool and a liar.

As for WHO Obama's speaking to...most of America's written off the 21% of the nation that is still throwing a tantrum about being forced to face the 21stC. That part of the political spectrum is now to be ignored.

Lastly, America's always going to face threats.
When faced by those threats, Team Bush not only failed miserably but they left the Nation in worse shape than before. Perhaps that can be the motto for America's new minority, "Fear and Failure Will Make Us Free".

I find your comment about Lawrence Summers odd, given the fact that he's Mr. Obama's top economic advisor, but Ooookaaay.

You obviously missed my comment on Obama speaking to a "world-wide" audience, rather than an adoring fan base here at home (including the media sheep). He is obviously not accustomed to making foreign policy pronouncements given his lame, wimpy, apologetic effort in Cairo.

America was not attacked after 911 because of Bush's swift and aggressive response to it. Since Obama is completely untested in this arena, we'll have to wait and see how he handles the situation when it happens again.

I'm certainly not encouraged by his performance in Cairo. And I'm certainly not encouraged by his delayed response to Private First Class William Long's murder in Arkansas.

He certainly was in a big hurry to express condolences over the killing of the late-term abortion doctor in Kansas, however. Shows you where his priorities are. Planned Parenthood obviously has him wrapped around their fingers.

Let's get something clear, shall we. The USA was not attacked by some super criminal, SPECTRE-like organization, using state of the art weaponry and communications. We were attacked by 19 of The Bush Family's Saudi-supported friends who used box cutters and their own passports.

Those responsible for protecting America at the time fell asleep at the controls and stood aside to allow these terrorists...some of them already actively being watched as they attended flight school in Arizona... to carry out their plan.

This happened despite Bush being warned that it would happen on his watch.

And then, during the next seven years, Bush did NOTHING to make the USA safer...he did just the opposite, at great cost to the Nation. It's ludicrous to suggest otherwise. Fact is, we had the worst man in the White House at the worst time.

Boy, you just can't seem to get your mind off Bush, can you? Sounds like somewhat of an unhealthy fascination, if you ask me, but whatever.

One final comment on Bush (who's no longer our president, in case you forgot) and then I'm done with him. George Bush's response to 911 actually did make America safer. The proof is in the pudding, my friend. We weren't attacked again after the World Trade Center hit on September 11, 2001. However, there were other attacks in Europe (England and Spain) where they are notoriously soft on terrorism. Again, the facts speak for themselves.

Back to Obama though, it will be interesting to see where he takes us with all this mounting debt. So far, it appears "straight to hell" is the answer. The economy is showing no signs of recovery and, in fact, people are still retracting and not spending money. The only ones who are benefiting from the spending spree so far are those that rely on the government for health care services. Is this the change we all hoped for?

Our Nation was attacked on President Bush's negligent watch. Yet I'm off topic...

Cairo,

Do you think the world audience has the capacity and the desire to embrace President Obama's message?

I think there is a real opportunity for my country to run the table here, especially if Iran throws their bum out on the 12th. I am cheering for Obama just as I cheered for Bush in this regard.

I do not secretly hope, as I fear some do, for a terrorist attack so as to somehow rhetorically say "I told you so." I never felt worse than I did on 9/11. But, the fault was on the terrorists, not on each other.

I am both thankful for Bush for working his hardest to keep us safe from terrorism and am supportive of Obama's effort to do the same.

We should not forget that President Obama kept Secretary Gates as his Secretary of Defense, a holdover from President Bush. I am confident in our Secretary of Defense.

We are ratcheting up pressure in Afghanistan/Pakistan to take out Al Qaeda and we are leaving Iraq with a fairly functional democracy.

We've come a long way since 2004.

The pieces are moving into place for a once in a lifetime opportunity to get it right. President Obama should be very thankful to Bush for many of his efforts and Bush should be thankful to President Obama for his efforts.

Is there shortcomings in both? Yes, of course.

Now, let's pray we finish the job.

Cairo,

Do you think the world audience has the capacity and the desire to embrace President Obama's message?

Scott,

What do you mean "run the table for my country"?

It is a billiards expression for when a player "runs the table," meaning he/she sinks every shot. I meant the expression to mean that US influence doesn't miss and in fact predominates.

We are, whether we like it or not, in a battle of influence with Iran in the region.

Iran's proxies lost in Lebanon this past week and now a change in leadership in Iran may open the door to some real advancement in the region.

I think there is a real opportunity here if some balls fall in the right pockets. (apologizing ahead of time for overusing the expression.)

Have a good one.

Nobody,

No.

Cairo,

How long have you felt about people this way?

Nobody,

About as long as you've been my psychologist.

Cairo,

How does that make you feel?

Much better, thanks...