Obama gave a very good speech (details to follow)

Obama gave a very good speech (details to follow)

The contrast between their words could not have been more dramatic.

There was President Barack Obama in Cairo, Egypt, calling for a new era of mutual respect among Muslims, Christians and Jews, of freedom of religion, of equality for women and of democracy. He painted a hopeful picture of peace and tolerance.

And there was the presumed voice of Osama bin Laden, repeating the same old call for Islamic supremacy, Sharia law and death to the infidels.

It should not be difficult for people to make the easy choice of which voice they want to follow. Only the blind would not see that one voice offers hope, the other despair.

We’re certain that President Obama’s address will come under fire here and abroad from those who believe that there can be no coexistence among Christians, Muslims and Jews.

They are the people who buy into the stereotypes that Obama condemned in his speech.

“I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear,” he said. “But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.”

Speaking in the capital of an Arab nation, Obama demanded recognition of the right of Israel to exist. Having just arrived from Saudi Arabia, he spoke of the need for freedom of religion and equality for women.

Polish was apparent

This was a polished speech in which Obama wove three separate references to the Quran. It was a speech in which he showed respect for his hosts. But it was also a courageous speech in which he was not afraid to confront the threats that radical Islam represents to the world.

“In Ankara, I made clear that America is not — and never will be — at war with Islam.” Obama said, adding, “We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security. Because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as president to protect the American people.”

And Obama made reference to Islam as a world religion, not just a religion of the Arab states, specifically referring to the years he spent as a child in Indonesia.

Those who were waiting for an apology from the president of the United States for wrongs real or perceived did not hear it. But neither did they hear the voice of a president who believes that the United States can act as a unilateral policeman.

It was a speech in which Obama set a high diplomatic bar for the United States to pursue in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It even attempted to open a door with Iran.

How those nations respond, how people in the Arab streets respond, how Obama and his secretary of state and Middle East envoy walk in the wake of Obama’s talk will define whether this was a very good speech or an historic address.