Barack Obama Talks to the Muslim World

As anticipated, Barack Obama's speech in Cairo this morning has sparked a blogging frenzy focused on whether or not there was a positive impact on the Muslim world.

Instead of adding to the redundancy, I would like to talk about the investment our President made today in a new Middle East.

In college, I was fortunate enough to take an introductory negotiations course that covered a variety of famous political, religious, financial, and emotionally charged arbitrations. Although it is unnecessary to go into course specifics, it has been interesting to watch Barack Obama productively utilize negotiation tactics when handling the Middle East. As somebody with a Jewish heritage, it has been frustrating watching many Israeli Jews and American Jews quickly becoming critical of our new president's strategy for a peaceful solution. All too often, I hear about how Barack Obama is straining our current relationship with Israel. Instead I would like somebody to consider frustrations as the"growing pains" necessary for us to move beyond prior convictions and work our way back up to a "clean slate."

The Bush administration may have supported Israel in every way imaginable, but 8 years later we can only say that they maintained a status quo in the region. More importantly, unwavering support for Israel cost the United States one of its previously greatest assets; the ability to mediate between nations. When I watched Barack Obama's speech today, I could not find fault with his praise for Muslim achievements and scrutinizing of Israel's occupation of lands negotiated on in prior treaties. While I do believe that Islamic extremists have caused Americans to become increasingly weary of the Muslim faith, our inability to differentiate between extremists and the main stream religion have added to the fire and set the grounds for a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Before Barack Obama can think about negotiating a peace deal in the Middle East, he must first become a negotiator in the eyes of those who live there. Over the past 2 years, recognized agreements have failed because citizens did not believe that their leaders were making decisions in their best interests. A real peace will only happen when the average citizen fully understands where the other side is coming from, what compromises they have made, and why they are willing to make them. Only then can Muslims and Jews talk "human to human" at the negotiating table.

Today Barack Obama invested in the Middle East by sowing the seeds that will allow him to become a formidable, reliable, unbiased (as much as any American can be), and informative negotiator for all people of the region. When both Muslim and Jew can refer to Barack Obama as a source for understanding, explaining, and compromise, maybe then a few settlements will REALLY be worth the security and prosperity from everlasting peace.

Obama and Michelle Obama's Date Night in New York City

Due to popular demand (Kate), I am making sure to address the controversial issue of Barack Obama's date night in New York City...

As somebody who often analyzes events from an economic and political standpoint, I realize that my interpretation is usually different than the main stream. I've read a few blogs on the issue of Barack Obama's date night in New York City and there seems to be two emerging views.

A) Since Barack Obama does so much for our country, has very little free time, and can not use commercial flights due to security restrictions, it is okay that he used Air Force One for leisure. It is a small price to pay for his service to America.

B) Barack Obama has no business traveling on Air Force One for leisure considering the fact that it is at the expense of the American taxpayer. Americans have had to cut down their spending habits immensely and our leader should follow suit. It is not fair for Obama to live lavishly and utilize such a privilege for a one night excursion when many Americans are losing their homes and rationing their resources.

My initial interpretation on the issue was based on economic fundamentals. Regardless of whether or not you support Barack Obama, it is a FACT that his presence in any retail venue becomes an instant "stimulus plan" for the owners and employees. I waited a few days to write this because I wanted to find articles supporting my initial interpretation (see below). As I presumed, Broadway ticket sales for 'Joe Turner's Come and Gone' have skyrocketed thanks to President Obama's visit last week. Although previously suffering in ticket sales, the show for now, can safely go on. When you calculate the increased ticket sales and the multiplier effect of consumer spending, I would not be surprised if the net cost of the flight on Air Force One (security etc.) is in the negative. Truth be told, fear of our economic decline will only yield to it becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. While I personally, do not have money to spend, the "value" lost in the stock market over the past year and a half was only moved from the public market to a private savings account. I realize this is an oversimplification, but I'm trying to emphasize that our stock market tanked because people were "cashing in on their investments." Motivating these people to spend is the best way to increase all of our livelihoods.

So while I do in fact also believe that our president deserves a night out every once in a while, I also want to mention that he forfeited his $100,000 stipend to redecorate the White House and instead is paying for it out of pocket. In my mind, this is a very important point that was rarely mentioned on mainstream news (Fox did you mention this at all?). It is not Barack Obama's fault that he lives with the real threat of assassination every day of his life. Without Air Force One, the role of President would become a position of social enslavement. As we have the witness protection and refugee programs, it is only fair to accommodate so that one can live their lives without losing their innate freedoms. I would be a hypocrite not to support Barack Obama's visit to New York. If I should ever become so lucky as to serve as President, I would expect to enjoy the same American past times such as going on vacation, seeing my child play a soccer game, or visiting Broadway every now and again.

"President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle had a date night in New York City this past Saturday night, and the centerpiece of their evening out was a Broadway show. The Obamas visited the Belasco Theatre in Times Square, taking in the Tony Award-nominated Broadway revival of August Wilson's play Joe Turner's Come and Gone. The audience at the performance was delighted to have the Commander-in-Chief in attendance with them, and they weren't the only audiences affected by the Obamas' Broadway visit. The press coverage of the First Couple at the show proved to be phenomenal publicity for Joe Turner's Come and Gone, which was struggling with ticket sales. According to the New York Post, Joe Turner's sold three times as many tickets as usual on the day after the President and First Lady attended the play. Now if only a few other troubled Broadway shows could entice the leader of the free world and his wife to show up for a visit ..."
- nytix.com

It's Really Hard to take the GOP Seriously

As a liberal Democrat, it is an unusual event for me to agree with any movements within the Republican party. Since Barack Obama's endorsement of Sonia Sotomayor for the next Supreme Court Justice, many details regarding her past decisions and statements have come to surface. As an Obama supporter, I realize that I was initially biased on my evaluation of Ms. Sotomayor's qualifications; nonetheless, as I began to hear from both political party's, I realized that my anticipation for a Republican rebuttal was greatly affecting my ability to evaluate information fairly.

In short, an announcer for CNN really "hit the mark" with his immediate comments after the nomination of Sonia Sotomayer. Paraphrasing, he said something along the lines of, "and now we wait to hear the Republicans rebuttal to Ms. Sotomayor's nomination."

I realized at that moment that our two party political system is set up so that there can never really be an agreement on major decisions. For instance, it really wasn't an option for Republicans to agree with the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. Every action Barack Obama makes has to "cause extreme potential danger" to our constitutional system. The Republicans were preparing for a rebuttal, the Democrats were anticipating reacting to this rebuttal, and the American people were waiting to (for the most part), support the party they currently feel represents their interests the most.

Honestly, I do feel that conservatives have a point regarding Sonia Sotomayor's opinion on a recent Connecticut case regarding the promotion of Police Officers. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is paraphrased, "[taking] aim at the judge's ruling in the 2008 case Ricci v. DeStefano, where Sotomayor backed the decision by the city of New Haven, Connecticut, to throw out the results of a firefighter promotion exam because almost no minorities qualified for promotions."

What bothers me about the whole situation is the fact that I found myself minimizing the GOP's position because my recent memory includes a plethora of irrelevant, overblown events. The Bill Ayer's issue was absolutely rediculous; I don't think anybody who is an active member of our society can honestly say they don't have a questionable acquaintance looming around somewhere in their past. Eric Cantor lost all of my respect when he blamed Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's speach on why he did not vote for the bail-out in September 2008. I'm sorry Mr. Cantor that somebody hurt your feelings and I must say that Nancy Pelosi is probably one of my least favorite Democrats, but seriously, don't make 300 million American's suffer for your emotional issues.

So where am I going with this? It should not be expected that Republicans and Democrats can not agree on anything. Growing up, my dad used to tell me to "pick my battles wisely." Throughout my teenage years, I admit I did learn this lesson the hard way; however, my adult years has been more successful because people who know me have come to respect the fact that I only make a big deal about things that keep me up at night. Instead of spending money on partisan advertising, maybe America's citizens should come together to promote battling only the battles that matter. It wouldn't be a good thing for any of us if the deal breakers get lost in all of the political fluff.