Quote:
Originally Posted by dlish
winning the muslim population worldwide is equally if not more important.
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... and damn near impossible, if you ask me. Obama is a swell guy, and I'm ecstatic that he will be our next president. But I don't think *any* American president is going to "win over" the worldwide Muslim population, or any worldwide population, really (once the honeymoon is over). He's only won over 52% of the American population as it is... and even the leaders of Muslim nations haven't won over their own populations (certainly doesn't do much good in Lebanon, you must admit)... so why would Obama have any more of a chance than they do?
I guess I just don't have a whole lot of star-studded expectations for Obama. He's going to be an American president, above all. And my bets are that he may well be a damn good one, when the books are written. But I'm quite sure that he's not going to revolutionize the place of America in the world--there's too much shit going on at home that he must focus on, and too much shit that goes on beyond his limited power (e.g. the policies that persist throughout every American president's tenure, including unadulterated support for Israel). He'll be a hell of a lot better than Bush, and for that I hope that the United States will step on fewer toes and have less hatred aimed in its direction, but otherwise I would not expect too much.
And you know, for those "crazies" that you mention... no American president is going to change their ways, not even if he's Superman (which Obama is not). Their resistance to a very real American hegemony is a force that gives them meaning, to borrow a phrase... and I'd be willing to bet that they won't be willing to set down their raison d'etre anytime soon, if ever.