Obama to Address Muslim World From Egypt

President chides Republicans on payroll taxes

(AP) - President Obama continued his onslaught on congressional Republicans today, saying that Congress needs to extend a payroll tax cut in light of an economic recovery that's "still fragile" and middle class families who need the money. In a statement given from the White House this afternoon, Obama urged Republicans to "keep your word to the American people" on not raising taxes. Obama has been seeking an extension and expansion to the payroll tax cut that will expire at the end of the year. More»

US more unpopular there now than it was under Bush

(NEWSER) - You know President Obama’s plan to reach out and win hearts and minds in the Middle East? It’s not going well. In a stunning new Pew Poll spotted by Glenn Greenwald of Salon , only 10% of residents in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates said they had a positive view of Obama, and less than that had a positive view of the US—putting the numbers at sub-Bush levels. More»

'Imaginary' curfew was imposed to quell protests against Mubarak

(AP) - Egypt’s practically non-existent curfew will become a literally non-existent curfew tomorrow when it is officially lifted. The move comes five months after President Hosni Mubarak imposed it in a futile attempt to keep his people from protesting. Mubarak mandated the curfew on Jan. 28 in Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez as anti-government demonstrations swelled in each city. As the protests intensified, so did the curfew—from 11 hours a day to 17 hours a day. It was eventually scaled back after he fell from power, from 2 to 5am. More»

Back Mideast peace deal based on 1967 borders

(NEWSER) - President Obama gave a wide-ranging speech on the Middle East today, speaking out forcefully in support of Arab protesters everywhere—even in US allies like Yemen and Bahrain. “After decades of accepting the world as it is in the region we have a chance to pursue the world as it should be,” Obama said, advocating “universal rights” for the people of the region, including freedom of speech and religion, and equality for women and men. More»

Josh Gerstein lays out the hot-button points

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama will give a major speech on the Mideast at 11:40am ET today, in which he'll share his vision of the role America should play in a region that's been battling unrest for four months now. Josh Gerstein provides a primer on Politico . Your ears should perk up when Obama broaches these five topics:

• Syria: How far will he go, asks Gerstein? We just slapped sanctions on Bashar al-Assad, but some lawmakers want Obama to flat-out call for Assad to go, as he did with Hosni Mubarak in Egypt (which worked) and Moammar Gadhafi (which hasn't). Gerstein thinks it's unlikely he'll go that far, though. "The president may not want to add to the list of dictators thumbing their noses at the US."