'the interview of the century'?

I think being 'conciliatory' toward Muslims is fine, as long as we've done something to slight them or have in some way insulted them.

But we haven't. In fact, President Bush bent over backwards to reach out to Muslims, repeatedly saying that the War on Terror wasn't a war on Islam or Muslims, but a rag tag band of militants who 'perverted' an otherwise 'peaceful religion.' He repeatedly stated Muslims were by and large good people, etc.

In President Obama's case, being 'conciliatory' sounded much more like brown-nosing, or sucking up. The fact that he chose to grant his first Presidential interview to Al Arabiya (the Arabic satellite news channel called it 'the interview of the century' on their website) is disturbing.

And it wasn't very Presidential. Neither is engaging in dialogue with Iran. How does legitimizing a wannabe imperial regime advance the national security interests of the United States? How does that serve to enhance the chances for peace in the Middle East?

I predicted Obama would emulate Jimmy Carter, I just didn't think it would happen so quickly.