What I find to be so painfully ironic in this is that President Obama has al-Qaeda running scared, yet he was portrayed as, and believed to be by a substantial portion of the electorate, "pallin' around with terrorists," during the campaign. He was called soft on terrorism by the very people, especially on this board, who's leader George W. Bush, as the article notes, was the perfect recruitment driver that al-Qaeda has ever had. Without the bone-headed cowboy rhetoric, al-Qaeda isn't sure what to do. They're stuck in the same tactics while the people around them, who used to be instigated by an effigy of Bush, seem to be more cautious about President Obama. Another fun irony is how al-Qaeda, just like certain posters on this BBS, was attempting to link President Obama to international crises before he had assumed any type of federal power. I'm looking at you texxie!
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200712/obama/3 What does he offer? First and foremost: his face. Think of it as the most effective potential re-branding of the United States since Reagan. Such a re-branding is not trivial—it’s central to an effective war strategy. The war on Islamist terror, after all, is two-pronged: a function of both hard power and soft power. We have seen the potential of hard power in removing the Taliban and Saddam Hussein. We have also seen its inherent weaknesses in Iraq, and its profound limitations in winning a long war against radical Islam. The next president has to create a sophisticated and supple blend of soft and hard power to isolate the enemy, to fight where necessary, but also to create an ideological template that works to the West’s advantage over the long haul. There is simply no other candidate with the potential of Obama to do this. Which is where his face comes in. Consider this hypothetical. It’s November 2008. A young Pakistani Muslim is watching television and sees that this man—Barack Hussein Obama—is the new face of America. In one simple image, America’s soft power has been ratcheted up not a notch, but a logarithm. A brown-skinned man whose father was an African, who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, who attended a majority-Muslim school as a boy, is now the alleged enemy. If you wanted the crudest but most effective weapon against the demonization of America that fuels Islamist ideology, Obama’s face gets close. It proves them wrong about what America is in ways no words can.
I get the feeling that a significant minority of conservatives and Republicans are now actively wishing Obama (and consequently America's) failure just so it could "prove them right." Which is essentially what Al Qaeda is hoping too. its just so intensely ironic
Small minority? Rush represents millions of conservatives and he's already said in no uncertain terms that he wants Obama to fail.
pretty cool stuff to see unfolding. obama has a ton of political capital right now. i hope he spends it well.
Because the terrorists never ever hurled insults at Bush whats sad to me is how you just lick up whatever spin the MSM puts out as fact.
Rush is an entertainer first and foremost. That is how he has made all that money. Are there some conservatives that fall lock step with Rush? Sure. I suspect that most conservative, like myself, roll their eyes when they hear him spew that sort of stuff.
Members of both parties have precious little to be proud of when looking at our elected officials in Congress. I find it quite odd that a Democrat would be slinging arrows when Al Franken appears to be the newest Democratic Congressman.
I see you didn't read the article. The reason this is interesting is because ordinary people in the Islamic world are curious about President Obama. They aren't ready to hate him from the outset, even though his rhetoric against al-Qaeda and terrorist organizations has been tough. George W. Bush was al-Qaeda's best recruitment tool; a bone-headed simpleton who used phrases like "smoke 'em out" and who was unwilling to partake in any dialogue with countries with different viewpoints. President Obama has shown that he's willing to listen and act accordingly, not unilaterally.
I was pretty sure of that right after I posted. Oh well. I suppose that Minnesota can put the reanimated corpse of Red Skelton in Congress next election cycle. That Minnesota delegation...what a hoot.
I really have no idea what they do in that state. Governor Jesse Ventura? Senator Al Franken? Perpetual Losing Candidate Norm Coleman?
They are having so much trouble because of his name and the fact his father was muslim, which makes him muslim in their eyes. It has nothing to do with anything he has said.
I may be in the minority but aside from Jesse Ventura being a wrestler, he really wasnt that bad. i'm sure rocketsjudoka can back me up on that.
