wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

'..you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party.' This is something that the Republican Party in the Unites States needs to learn.

peter,
is it pandering just to say the west has made mistakes as well.

hjs, this is not the place for a discussion of French laws. My whole point is that regardless of the merits of the law on secularity, dismissing it as hostility or pretense was a cheap shot and seemed like pandering to the audience.

france can not claim to be free if they tell people how they can and can't dress.

I'm disappointed with the offhand dismissal of the French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols. It's not about hostility to any religion, nor is it an expression of a pretense of liberalism.

If Obama stressed his Muslim roots during the campaign he would have been defeated. Obama should apologize to those who were attacked for referring to Obama as Barack Hussein Obama a name he now shouts from the hill tops.

Surely the guest did not endorse the UN's attempt to make religious hate speech illegal?

Surely the guest isn't endorsing the UN resolution against religious defamation?

Lived the speech. "If we choose to be bond by the past we will never move forward." - Obama -

I heard some of President Obama's speech and I was actually taken by his words. I do believe this is the first President to reach out to the Muslim people in this manner.

ABC news interviewed Sean Hannity who called the Mid-East visit an "apology tour". If you listen to Obama's words carefully, there is nothing apologetic about his words. He acknowledges our past failures (Iraq) and highlighted the importance of invading Afghanistan. I think those that do not like Obama will always find fault with anything he says.

I am proud we have a President who has moved away from scare tactics and is willing to open the door to those who have been alienated for so long. Without open discussion, we will continue to circle around the same issues and never find a solution.

I listened to the speech and thought President Obama did a nice job showing that he respects the culture of the Middle East - saying that not all women who wear hijab are oppressed. He quoted from the qur'an - the passage about God making us all different so that we will get to know one another. Is he the first US President to make such overtures? and how far will this go if it is not backed by a better policy (ie. an end to funding to Israel if they do not halt settlements, continued drone attacks in afghanistan and pakistan, possible extension of troops in iraq, etc.)?

People in the Middle East are more aware of what happens on their land than most Americans. Do they see this as more rhetoric from an American President?