When President Bush spoke in the months and years after Sept. 11, 2001, we often — chillingly — felt as if we didn’t recognize the United States. His vision was of a country racked with fear and bent on vengeance, one that imposed invidious choices on the world and on itself. When we listened to President Obama speak in Cairo on Thursday, we recognized the United States.
Mr. Obama spoke, unwaveringly, of the need to defend the country’s security and values. He left no doubt that he would do what must be done to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban, while making it clear that Americans have no desire to permanently occupy Afghanistan or Iraq. He spoke, unequivocally, of the United States’ “unbreakable” commitment to Israel and of why Iran must not have a nuclear weapon. He was also clear that all of those listening — in the Muslim world and in Israel — must do more to defeat extremism and to respect the rights of their neighbors and their people…
Like many people, we were listening closely to how the president would address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He did not shy away from pressing Israel’s new government, insisting that the construction of settlements must stop, the existence of a Palestinian state cannot be denied, and “the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable.” In the same stern tone, he pressed the Palestinians to reject violence and said that Arab states must stop using the conflict “to distract” their people from other problems. They must recognize Israel and do more to help Palestinians build strong state institutions…
On Iran, Mr. Obama warned that its pursuit of nuclear weapons could set off a dangerous arms race in the Middle East. He also renewed his offer of serious negotiations…
… He said the war in Afghanistan was one of necessity and insisted that despite the high cost, in lives and treasure, America’s commitment will not weaken. At the same time, Mr. Obama said the war in Iraq was a war of “choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world”…
Before Thursday’s speech, and after, Mr. Obama’s critics complained that he has spent too much time apologizing and accused him of weakening the country. That is a gross misreading of what he has been saying — and of what needs to be said. After eight years of arrogance and bullying that has turned even close friends against the United States, it takes a strong president to acknowledge the mistakes of the past. And it takes a strong president to press himself and the world to do better.
I think I’m beginning to see why he’s so unflappable. I guess it’s easy to be calm when you just say as clearly as you can what is the truth about your topic, or at least as close to the relative truth as you can get. You don’t have to convince anyone of anything, all you have to do is lay it out with as much honesty as you can muster, and let the fact that you’re not holding your cards close to your chest carry the day. After years of artifice and obfuscation, what Obama does is all that we require of him. The fact that he projects both sincerity and graciousness is gravy on an already full plate.
“. . . he speaks respectfully to us as well.”
Yes. Among other things, he respects our intelligence and ability to hear the truth. Part of what made dubya so exasperating was that he would say things that we knew were not true, or wrong-headed, as though he expected us to believe him — which meant putting our rational minds in the closet.