Why Being Obama Matters

Eugene Robinson wrote a great column yesterday.

He's reflecting on PresObama's impact in our National relations with the Muslim world. It seems odd to think that Obama's personal history (i.e.,Obama being Obama) could become a powerful instrument of foreign policy.

Admitting that the driver of foreign is national interest, Robinson gives this evidence of the power of Obama as a person in foreign policy.

"Taking a cold-eyed view of international affairs is never wrong. But it’s also wrong to ignore the spectacle of an audience member, at Obama’s Cairo University speech, interrupting an American president to shout, "We love you!" You will recall that the last memorable presidential appearance in the Arab world was the news conference in Iraq at which two shoes were hurled at the head of George W. Bush."

What a difference a couple of hundred days make. Who'd have thought six months ago that an American President could lead a galdanged lovefest at an Islamic Egyptian University?

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.