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I was very pleased with this interview.
Just a few minutes long — but tried most to emphasize to Keith Olbermann. . .
. . .that the interview Obama gave last night to Al Arabiya telegraphed that America actually cares about and values Muslims and Muslim lives;
. . .that unclenching fists as he did can be very smart statecraft;
. . .that we can’t approach complex problems in the world with bias, stacked decks, and false choices between one side’s interest and another’s;
. . .that the Arab-Palestinian conflict is key and is part of an interlocking set of problems in which none can be totally siloed off from others;
. . .that while George W. Bush tried to respond to terrorism by killing terrorists (and many others), Obama understands that to beat terrorism’s efforts to exploit grievances and look legitimate in the eyes of the people they are trying to reach, Obama must steal the audience by seriously appealing to hearts and minds with hope, with a more sensitive posture, and with policies and a team that will change the facts of otherwise bleak and hopeless lives.
More later.
— Steve Clemons
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