Comments on: Winning Hearts and Minds

By: Tano

Tano — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:49:53 +0000

No, it was his mother who was the athiest.

By: davod

davod — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:54:50 +0000

"Since fundamentalist Muslims already believe that all people are born Muslim, but are pulled away from it through family, culture, brainwashing, whatever, Obama's not in any particular danger."

I read earlier that Obama's father was an atheist. There is no such thing in the Muslim world. If his family was Muslim then the father was Muslim and that makes Obama a Muslim in the eyes of Islam. If he has moved to Christianity he is a heretic and can re-convert or die.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:42:41 +0000

I think James' last point is his strongest, but only right in part. Al Qaeda hatched the 9/11 attacks against an America led by Bill Clinton, not George Bush. That should be pretty sobering for anyone who thinks that we can simply drop Bush and be loved. In 2009 and probably 2029 the people who are in Al Qaeda today will hate us about the same whether we elect Duncan Hunter or Dennis Kucinich or anyone in between. But it is a huge mistake to think of the Muslim world as monolithic and that the entire Muslim population is beyond reach. Many can potentially be turned on or off by the American message; I have no doubt of that from my own travels in several Muslim countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. These moderates are critical for us because the United States cannot defeat Al Qaeda, only the eventual success of moderates from within the various Muslim nations can do that, if it can be done at all. Obama isn't the only one who can improve the perception of the US in moderate Muslim circles, but he might be the best available this election (just judging on this issue alone). And it certainly would be good if we would at least switch to a President that wouldn't invite Muslim heads of state to come out to Crawford to do keg-stands at a pig pickin.

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 02:24:38 +0000

Beldar: Since fundamentalist Muslims already believe that all people are born Muslim, but are pulled away from it through family, culture, brainwashing, whatever, Obama's not in any particular danger.

If he had 'reverted' to Islam and then changed back, he'd have problems.

By: Tlaloc

Tlaloc — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 02:06:15 +0000

Actually, the fact that Obama professes to be a Christian notwithstanding his middle name and his early exposure to Islam could be used by Islamic extremist enemies of the United States as evidence that he's a traitor to Islam, not just an ordinary infidel.

Okay. Now actually read the post, since it directly addresses your contention.

By: Tano

Tano — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 01:33:56 +0000

"I'm just saying that it's not going to make all that much difference -- and certainly not enough to vote for him for president."

Well, since the topic here is what Bob Kerrey said, and he said it in the context of endorsing Hillary, I dont think one can conclude that anyone is putting forth the Hussein issue as a sufficient reason to vote for the guy.

By: Beldar

Beldar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 01:14:45 +0000

Actually, the fact that Obama professes to be a Christian notwithstanding his middle name and his early exposure to Islam could be used by Islamic extremist enemies of the United States as evidence that he's a traitor to Islam, not just an ordinary infidel.

By: Political Animal

Political Animal — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:27:30 +0000

Fighting Terrorism...

FIGHTING TERRORISM....Former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey, asked about Barack Obama yesterday, said: "I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. There's a......

By: Tlaloc

Tlaloc — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:25:54 +0000

Now, if your argument is just "couldn't hurt," then sure. I'm just saying that it's not going to make all that much difference -- and certainly not enough to vote for him for president.

I'd go slightly farther and say "could help a little," but I agree: if you think the policy is bad in the first place the guy's name is not going to convince you.

By: Political Animal

Political Animal — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:01:23 +0000

Ending the War...

ENDING THE WAR....Matt Yglesias links to the latest NYT/CBS poll about Iraq, and the results are clear: more than 70% of the country thinks we should leave within two years or less:As you can see, virtually nobody in the United......

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 22:52:58 +0000

Zalmay Khalilzad did a good job as ambassador to Iraq Then again, John Abizaid didn't do a particularly good job as CENTCOM commander despite his name and heritage -- and, unlike Obama, he's a fluid Arab speaker and Middle East expert. Now, if your argument is just "couldn't hurt," then sure. I'm just saying that it's not going to make all that much difference -- and certainly not enough to vote for him for president.

By: Tlaloc

Tlaloc — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 22:15:42 +0000

For the sake of argument-
I seem to recall you believe that Zalmay Khalilzad did a good job as ambassador to Iraq (feel free to correct me if this is not the case). Do you not suspect that his name had some bearing on this? Would a midwestern WASP gotten the same results even if the policy was identical?

I think you have to make allowances that everyone has at least a little prejudice towards their own. It may not be noble to play into that but when has politics ever been noble?

By: John425

John425 — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:58:39 +0000

Nah, Kerrey is just pulling a different version of the Shaheen ploy. Bringing the issue up without HillaryGang taking any heat for it and get the folks out in the hustings talking and worrying about it.

By: davod

davod — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:09:33 +0000

I really think you should stop making excuses for Kerry. He is part of the Clinton campaign and, as such, he used Hussein as part of the political campaign.