Thursday, February 14, 2008
Magical Barak, Part II
A couple of days we took issue with the increasingly popular argument that the election of Barack Obama will -- because of who he is rather than the policies he espouses -- so change the perception of America in the world that it would diminish the "demonization of America that fuels Islamist ideology" (in Andrew Sullivan's words). Several commenters and other correspondants stood up for Andrew, basically arguing that while the election of Obama would not change the attitude of the jihadis, it would change the perceptions of the great mass of people who are in a position to help against the jihadis. I do not happen to think that matters very much, but suppose it does? Will the election of Barack Obama change the perceptions of "moderates" in the Arab world?
Well, it depends who you read.
Haitham Sabbah is a heavily-trafficked Palestinian blogger -- on my blogroll for years -- who articulates the position of his people with great vigor and manifest moderation. Sabbah argues that Obama's election will not change anything.
Obama may or may not espouse policies that help America's image in the world. That is probably good in the abstract, and it may indeed help us accomplish certain geopolitical objectives. Outside of Africa, though, it is highly unlikely that his status as the descendent of Africans will matter at all. To think otherwise is a Western delusion.
13 Comments:
By 
, at
Thu Feb 14, 01:38:00 PM:
Haven't liberals been claiming this about all of their candidates since Bill Clinton's campaign? I think its just their standard wishful thinking. The reasoning being:
Since they hate an America that they don't run, other countries must hate it too. Therefore if they run America, they will like it, and other countries will like it too?
By 
D.E. Cloutier, at
Thu Feb 14, 02:15:00 PM:
TH, does your post title "Magical Barack" have its roots in the term "Magical Negro" (the term popularized by Spike Lee in 2001)? If so, it's not funny.
Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_negro
By TigerHawk, at
Thu Feb 14, 02:19:00 PM:
It absolutely does not - I actually had never heard of that. My point is merely this: there is this idea that Obama's election will work a magical transformation in America's image abroad, and that this will somehow convert into soft power that will benefit us in the war. No literary allusion was intended, implied, or even rattling around in my subconscious.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Thu Feb 14, 02:52:00 PM:
Okay, I guess it's kind of like the British retail chain that named the girls' bed "Lolita." (Your Feb 1 post "Annals of product management: The importance of a liberal arts education")
By CW, at
Thu Feb 14, 04:37:00 PM:
Nothing could be further from reality. Obama is likely to be considered a "murtadd" - an apostate deserving of death - by the jihadis. Moreover, if the perception is that he is wobbly on defense, then the jihadis (and other bad actors) might be encouraged to start new adventures.
CW
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Thu Feb 14, 05:54:00 PM:
CW: "...an apostate..."
On Jan. 25, Myrtus had an interesting post on this topic:
"Change of Religion under Islamic Law - The Case of Barack Hussein Obama"
Link:
http://myrtus.typepad.com/myrtus/2008/01/change-of-relig.html
By , at
Thu Feb 14, 07:53:00 PM:
I just had a twisted thought...
Say Obama is elected. He is then assassinated by jihadis because not only is he the American President, but he's an apostate. Talk about a major coup for them, eh? That's a two for one.
Does anyone think that then, finally, after their hero-figure is killed for (basically) his religion, the Democrats will figure out what Islamism really is and become motivated to fight?
Or will they just whine and piss and moan and blame it on bad blood left over from Bush?
I honestly don't know which is more likely.
By Assistant Village Idiot, at
Thu Feb 14, 08:31:00 PM:
Anonymous - Bingo. What matters to that stripe of leftist is which tribe is running America. (Theirs is the Arts & Humanities tribe, which expects support from the other factions of the Democratic Party, but does not want them to share rulership). What happens in other places is of little concern except as it affects the culture war here. I submit the countries of Eastern Europe as my initial evidence for this
By , at
Thu Feb 14, 09:38:00 PM:
Obama will make things WORSE.
Hillary or McCain, Muslims world-wide will not expect:
1. Complete US disarmament.
2. Complete abandonment of Israel.
3. A world-wide "apology for America tour."
4. Some imposition of Sharia off the bat -- i.e. restrictions on what you can say or do about Mohammed, the Koran, allowing Muslims their own Sharia Courts, polygamy etc.
But with President Obama pretty much ALL the world's 1 billion Muslims would expect that. Maybe only #3 would happen. Disappointment would only encourage MORE jihad from every Muslim. Obama is raising far too many UNREALISTIC expectations with Muslims abroad. Not just Jihad leadership, but everyone else. ONLY if Pres. Obama turned the US into Saudi Arabia would Muslim's fundamental issue with us -- we are both powerful and not Muslim -- be settled.
That won't happen.
By jj mollo, at
Fri Feb 15, 02:04:00 AM:
Why is it that a black man of substance like Colin Powell, is sitting on the sideline while a rookie congresscritter is getting more attention than the Beatles? The answer is that Colin Powell has actually done something, which is guaranteed to enrage people on both sides.
By , at
Fri Feb 15, 06:38:00 AM:
Always the great (white/black/etc.) hope, as if the US and the world are not complex. One guy's going to make all the difference. Like Edwards for Kerry ... didn't pull a Southern state, including his home state of SC or residence state of NC. Hmmmm ... familiarity clearly breeds comtempt.
That Obama might have some short run play for the progessive indication that a black person could rise to power overlooks the two black SecState under GWB, or people of color in other prominent roles and significant affluence in this great country.
I am not happy about McCain, and at a loss for what to do. He's still more conservative than Obama, and I don't know that I could handle 4 or more years of leftist panty wetting over him should he be elected.
I'm liking what he's doing to the Clinton's though, so that's one in his cap.
John
By Dan Kauffman, at
Fri Feb 15, 09:18:00 AM:
It seems to escape everyone's attention that even if Obama were indeed a Muslim (I don't make that claim)
He would be a Muslim of Black African Descent, not Arabic.
And who is it being butchered these days in Dafur by Arabic Jihadists??
By , at
Fri Feb 15, 10:57:00 AM:
What if Hill win's? Women aren’t exactly valued in a lot of Arabic countries.
