Andrew Sullivan on Barack Obama

What does he offer? First and foremost: his face. Think of it as the most effective potential re-branding of the United States since Reagan. Such a re-branding is not trivial—it’s central to an effective war strategy. The war on Islamist terror, after all, is two-pronged: a function of both hard power and soft power. We have seen the potential of hard power in removing the Taliban and Saddam Hussein. We have also seen its inherent weaknesses in Iraq, and its profound limitations in winning a long war against radical Islam. The next president has to create a sophisticated and supple blend of soft and hard power to isolate the enemy, to fight where necessary, but also to create an ideological template that works to the West’s advantage over the long haul. There is simply no other candidate with the potential of Obama to do this. Which is where his face comes in.

Consider this hypothetical. It’s November 2008. A young Pakistani Muslim is watching television and sees that this man—Barack Hussein Obama—is the new face of America. In one simple image, America’s soft power has been ratcheted up not a notch, but a logarithm. A brown-skinned man whose father was an African, who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, who attended a majority-Muslim school as a boy, is now the alleged enemy. If you wanted the crudest but most effective weapon against the demonization of America that fuels Islamist ideology, Obama’s face gets close. It proves them wrong about what America is in ways no words can.

It's the cover story in this month's Atlantic here.

Comments

[John]

This hypothical depends on one believing that the so called "War on Terror" exists. Obama is an empty suit who voted in favor of giving President Bush the authority to bomb Iran. Maybe instead of bombing Iran, we could apologize for overthrowing their government 50 years ago? Maybe instead of voting for a man who belongs to a black separatist church, we can stop telling Muslims how to live their lives? If you really want to send a message to the Muslim world, maybe we should vote for someone who doesn't kiss up to AIPAC every year? Besides, I think one coke-head is enough for awhile, don't ya think?

[DJM]

I have not read the whole piece, but I find Sullivan's reasoning lacking any knowledge of reality (which I know he has)... Sadly, in our era, muslim versus muslim war/terror has killed more muslims than any christian/israeli/western battles. So, to argue that bc this man may or may not be muslim and has 'brown skin' (Sullivan's words),will lead to a rethinking of attitudes towards the US is wishful thinking. Sadly, recent history argues otherwise.