"Let me say this as clearly as I can, the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical ... in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject."
"America's relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not be based on opposition to al Qaida. We seek broad engagement based upon mutual interests and mutual respect."
"We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better, including my own country."
"We don't consider ourselves Christian, Jewish, Muslim. We consider ourselves a nation bound by a set of ideals and values. Turkey has similar principals."
Most of that is the same sort of boilerplate said to the Muslim world by President Bush. Perhaps the same old wine in a pretty new bottle will be more satisfying to the Turks. But the part that caught my eye was the "we" stuff. Does he mean "we" as in "I" or does he mean "we" as in "The American People"?
Because, lots of Americans won't be willingly included in the idea that they don't consider themselves Christian or Jewish-- that their religious faith is subservient to The State. They won't agree that the principles binding Turks together in their nation are similar to those binding Americans in ours. And many of us don't have a deep appreciation for Islam. Sorry, Barry, we don't.
But then, maybe he was using "WE" when he meant "I" or "ME".
After all, he did bow deeply to the King of Arabia, the leader of the House of Saud.
That bizarre little show, unremarked upon in the legacy media, was deeply disturbing to many Americans.
My takeaway from President ObamaPrompter's trip is that he believes America ain't so hot. Which is pretty much what I've been hearing from Leftists since about 1967. The "Blame America First" wine bottle may be pretty, but it isn't new.
