WJ this morning - Obama's speech

[malaise]

Three calls so far - all full of praise

[KharmaTrain]

1. Our President Did Us Proud

This was no easy speech to give...walking into a country where even his popularity is in the negatives. There's a lot of fence mending that has to be done on this trip and this was an important step. The best reactions will be outside the hall as that speech was aired throughout the region. The warm applause seems to indicate he was connecting. The WaPo correspondent is giving a very good syonpsis.

:hi:

[malaise]

2. He did connect on some levels

I think he is the first American President to publicly admit that the US overthrew the elected Iranian government.

[alsame]

3. ...

:wow:

So many Americans won't admit that.

[malaise]

7. True

Ahmed is crazy to even suggest that Bush reached out to Muslims - he promoted a crusade for goodness sake.

[KharmaTrain]

4. Interesting Rushpublican Caller

Thought Obama did well...and brought up how we have troops in harm's way. This speech could go a long way in bringing down tensions in the region that can help get the troops out quicker. I also see it as an honest rebutal to bin Laden...a big contrast. In the past booooshie either tried to ignore or ridicule or bombast a response, Obama plays chess...he's talking looking forward, bin Laden's rhetoric has to look stale.

[malaise]

5. There is no doubt that this was

a fundamental paradigm shift in terms of the religious tolerance. The crusade rhetoric departed with Bush and Cheney.

[malaise]

6. Ahmed made a profound comment on why the speech

was at the University. It was about ideas.

[Psychic Consortium]

8. The Obama doctrine will be famous in decades to come.

His foreign policy will bring peace to the Mideast.

[olegramps]

9. While the world will welcome his message of mutual understanding and respect:

The Right wing extremists will see this as affirmation that President Obama is a closet Muslim just as they had warned during the presidentital campaign.

I can only hope that my grandchildrens' generation will be able to totally discredit these radicals who preach hatred and division. They are in reality the greatest threat that exists to our Democratic Republic. It is difficult at times, but I still share Rev. Martin Luther King's dream that one day we could be one and fulfill our nation's motto: E pluribus unum.

People fail to grasp the basic fact that it is our nation's diversity that has contributed to its success. It is when equal opportunity is provided to all that we see the greatest progress. Much of our present problems can be directly attributed to the concentration of wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer citizens.

The situation in our nation today is little different than when wealth was concentrated in the hands of the European aristocracy and there was a two classes. A society of beggars and the ultra-wealthy. This is the legacy that Republican domination has brought to Americans that was inaugurated by Reagan and his henchmen. Measure after measure that prevented the looting of the nation's wealth by modern day robber barons was systematically repealed to solely benefit their gangster buddies who gladly filled their campaign chests with their stolen booty.

[malaise]

10. While the world will welcome the shift re religious tolerance

and the desire for peace, it would be naive not to notice that while he is promoting peace and condemning the killing innocents, those American drones continue to slaughter innocent people.