Remember when it was scandalous to mention that Barack Obama’s middle name is Hussein. Well I’ve just discovered the latest outrage: The President-elect himself! (via memeorandum):
And when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20, he plans to be sworn in like every other president, using his full name: Barack Hussein Obama.
That will be part of his outreach to the Muslim world:
“I think we’ve got a unique opportunity to reboot America’s image around the world and also in the Muslim world in particular,” Obama said Tuesday, promising an “unrelenting” desire to “create a relationship of mutual respect and partnership in countries and with peoples of good will who want their citizens and ours to prosper together.”
The world, he said, “is ready for that message.”
I hope he uses this unique opportunity to boycott Durban.
While a headline reported that the President-elect is likely to do so, the report is a lot less certain.
A senior executive from an international Jewish body said he had been told: “President Obama is fully aware of the dangers of participating in this conference.” Another senior executive of a major New York Jewish organisation said that foreign-policy advisers had told him that a public announcement would have to wait until the new team is installed in Washington.
Being “aware of the dangers” is not tantamount to boycotting.
Shmuel Rosner correctly sees Durban II as a test for President-elect Obama.
Having made some rounds in the last couple of days, I can tell you this: Israeli officials, while acknowledging that what Obama faces here is a very tricky situation–the new internationalist American President might find it difficult to start his term with the boycotting of a UN sponsored summit–also think of it as a test.
He’s an internationalist who wants to repair America’s image in the Muslim world.
How many Muslim leaders tried to repair their world’s image in the United States after 9/11? Usually they only did so in the context of demanding more American pressure on Israel.
So will Israel be the cost of repairing America’s image in the Muslim world too? Or will Barack Hussein Obama see this as a unique opportunity to tell the Muslim world to stop blaming their problems on Israel.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
Here’s another unique opportunity. We tell the Palestinians that we can’t give them anymore money because we need bailouts for American industries and then let Saudi Arabia pay for advertising against the bailouts. Then we can stop giving money to terrorists because we already said we would.
Win, win for the American people.