Presidential substance over statement

In government, as in business, credibility is everything. Therefore, an ancillary note about Obama’s speech-ifying and the power or rhetoric, or lack of same, is justified.

Over the past several months, news reporting has suggested that Muslims worldwide perceived a possible new day when with the election of a non-traditional American president. It appears that not all expectations for the measure of "change" are coming to fruition, at least so far. One observer and commentator on the effectiveness of Obama's substance over stance says a lot.

Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany, writing from Cairo in the NYT, believes that - despite great expectations to the contrary - Obama’s “brilliantly written inaugural speech did not leave a big impression on Egyptians. We had already begun to tune him out.”

Why? Because mere jawboning does not cut it in the world of global realities.

Aswany wrote that “No matter how many envoys, speeches or interviews Mr. Obama offers to us, he will not win the hearts and minds of Egyptians until he takes up the injustice in the Middle East.” NYT, 2-8-09: “Why the Muslim World Can’t Hear Obama.”