Obama Deftly Makes Pitch for Muslim Women's Rights

Why? 'He is decidedly not' his predecessor

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s speech in Cairo sounded a lot like President Bush’s 2006 speech to Muslims—yet Obama’s manages to carry far more weight, writes Michael Crowley in the New Republic. Both spoke of respect for “the history and traditions of the Muslim world”; both suggested governmental systems can’t be “imposed.” But Bush’s speech was “forgotten,” while Obama’s “seems to offer the potential of making millions of Muslims reconsider their view of America,” Crowley writes. 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»

Hovering from on high, he finds fault with US: Krauthammer

(NEWSER) - "He's sort of God," a Newsweek writer said of Barack Obama on MSNBC recently, which for Charles Krauthammer is only a mild overstatement of how the president sees himself: "hovering above mere mortals, mere country, to gaze benignly upon the darkling plain beneath him." In his Cairo speech, Obama took his "gospel of understanding" to an extreme, equating brutality in the Muslim world with mild American foibles, writes the Washington Post columnist. More»

(NEWSER) - Most of America wasn’t even awake when it happened, but Barack Obama’s Cairo speech got people talking anyway, the Washington Post reports. The New York Times says Obama delivered a "sweeping and forceful—at times scolding and combative" message, which included what the Wall Street Journal called a “shrewd” statement about women's rights. But overall, it was part of Obama’s détente with the Muslim world, and earned a standing ovation from the crowd. More»

Calls for end to 'cycle of suspicion and discord'

(NEWSER) - Speaking in Cairo, President Obama called for a “new beginning” for the US and the Muslim world, the BBC reports. The “cycle of suspicion and discord must end,” he said at Cairo University, urging a “sustained effort...to respect one another and seek common ground.” Acknowledging that “no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust,” he said “we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts.” More»