First Interview

So who did you think the first formal sit down interview of the Obama presidency would go to?
I would have thought maybe ABC, NBC, or CBS but definitely not al Arabiya.
I don't really know what to think about this, on the one hand I want to think well he's reaching out. Then I think the first interview?? Why would you give your first interview to a foreign network for a foreign audience? Why wouldn't you give your first interview to one of our own networks for a home audience, seeing as how you are our new president. So mostly I'm just miffed.

In case you want to read a transcript of the president's first interview as president, which was meant for the Arab world, instead of his fellow Americans,you can find it here

Now what I took away from reading it is that there may be some magic wand that he will be able to wave and fix everything that troubles the Middle East.

I found this exchange humorous:

Q How concerned are you and -- because people sense that you have a different political discourse. And I think, judging by (inaudible) and Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden and all these, you know -- a chorus --

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I noticed this. They seem nervous.

Q They seem very nervous, exactly. Now, tell me why they should be more nervous?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that when you look at the rhetoric that they've been using against me before I even took office --

Yes they do sound so nervous since Obama took office. Especially after he said that capturing Bin Laden isn't that big a deal anymore. And he hasn't done anything that will make them nervous. Everything that has been done to cripple the Al Qaeda network was done before him. Maybe he should step back and quit patting his own back before he has even done anything.

And my job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives. My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect. But if you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that. And that I think is going to be an important task.

No your job is to be our president. By the way remember what we were doing 20-30 years ago? Supplying Afghanistan (esp. the taliban) with weapons and training to combat the Russians which they then used to take control and provide a safe haven for Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda.