One for Mr. President

Let's get this one out of the way up front - as a conservative, I am not a fan of Barack Obama for reasons that will no doubt become obvious later in my posts. However in all fairness, I cannot let last week's Mid-East speech by Mr. Obama go by without notice.

One of the concerns we had early on as the US mulled the prospect of intervention in Iraq was the seeming lack of understanding brought to the table by the previous administration. Having done business in the Middle East, I learned long ago that success depends on an understanding of the unique ways the people there negotiate and do business. And it seemed to me that if a simple business person could learn this, the Administration could surely do so. But in fact, although it seems as if Iraq at least may have been pulled back from the brink, an almost embarrassing lack of this understanding was almost the demise of the whole plan.

Mr. Obama, however, is of a different lot. Last week's speech showed much thought in consulting all those requried to not only understand what best to say but even how to present it in multiple terms that would make sense to his diverse audience, even from a religious basis. Some will say he was pandering, but in my view it was an excellent beginning. Because what he accomplished was the beginning of a building of confidence in the region which can pay off big in the long term.

So whatever I may think about his domestic policies and liberal tendancies, I must give credit where it is due, and in this case it certainly is due. Now the stage is set for action, and this is the most difficult part. We can only hope that Mr. Obama can build on this oratory success with concrete changes that will eventually lead to a new, more peaceful era. And if he can accomplish this, there is little doubt that he will have earned a well deserved place in history.