Arabs happy Obama won… and that Bush’s man lost | Middle East | Jerusalem Post
Arab and Muslim reaction to incoming US President Barack Obama’s electoral victory around the globe has been largely optimistic, but some remain skeptical that Obama will bring significant change to the Middle East.
The excitement appears to be as much a celebration of Obama’s victory as of the perceived defeat of President George W. Bush – in the shape of his would-be Republican successor John McCain – whose foreign policies in the region have drawn widespread criticism from the Arab and Muslim world.
“Farewell racism, farewell tyranny, farewell wars and terrorism,” wrote Muhammad el-Said of Egypt Wednesday on the Facebook social networking site page entitled “The Arab campaign to support Obama…a necessity and a moral obligation.”
In rare praise, Syria’s state-run newspaper Al-Thawra said Thursday that it “extends its hand to Obama,” that his win “inspired” people around the world and that the American people should be congratulated for electing him.
One can only wonder how tangible was the “necessary and moral” support for Obama. “The Arab campaign to support Obama” sounds like a possible source for all the “untraceable” donations that came into the Obama campaign via its validation-free online credit-card donation system. Somehow, I suspect some of those donations came from Ali Baba… or one of his friends.
Then there’s this, after the 9/11 attacks:
Let’s try to put this another way, for perspective. What would have been the reaction of the American media and the Democrats if a Republican president-elect was hailed as a new beginning by an obviously racist, apartheid regime, maybe something like South Africa some years back? Would Democrats and the media be talking about how this means the new president will be able to reach out and negotiate effectively with the racist regime?
SURE they would….
