I am not sure if I should be angry with the obvious bias or sympathetic to the evident lack of coherent thinking. What is it with these so-called pundits and Obama-bashing?

So Obama bent a little bit to shake King Abdullah's hand. That is the proper etiquette to use to greet a Saudi king. Just as it is proper etiquette not to extend your hand to the Queen of England before she does. Just because most of us do not have any knowledge beyond what goes in our own towns (if that!), it does not mean our President should function at our level of emotional intelligence. Would you prefer a George Bush with the horrid smirk when he met anyone, and yet then went out of his way to protect the Bin laden family?

Cultures differ all over the world, and it takes open mindedness to work well with all of them. In all Asian countries making eye contact is disrespectful, in the US its a sign of weakness. In England you leave a little tea in your cup to show you have had enough, in most European countries you drink to the last drop to show you have enjoyed it. Thank God we NOW have a President who is mature enough to understand customs that are foreign to us, and wise enough to use them to his advantage.

America cannot assert its democratic principles if it cannot respect other nations, democratic or not. If we believe that equality is for all people we have to believe in the legitimacy of other peoples' norms and culture. Giving respect will only beget respect. It is the destructive arrogance that was encouraged by the previous regime, unfortunately, that blinds us to to this eternal truth.


President Obama is already setting us back on track to the moral high ground we have held for ages, till we were afflicted with the Bush-Cheney administration. We have to understand how the rest of the world began to hate us. That kind of fearful hate is like a tinder box in today's unstable world. One has to just read news from all over the world to appreciate how the slightly apologetic tone Obama used ameliorated that feeling. It takes a lot of confidence and bigheartedness to admit you were wrong. It takes downright nobility to make amends for mistakes someone else has made! And Obama is nothing if not noble.

Like every country and every community, we also have our fair share of retards - we have the likes of Hannity, O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck. After all the proof that it does not work, if someone can still justify torture of any human being, nay, any living creature, there has to be something seriously wrong in the processing ability of their brains. Anyone who has seen a few seconds of the water boarding 'demonstration tape' shown often on news channels and even then believes it to be legal, and ethical, and also efficient has to be - for lack of a clearer way to put it- a brainless git. Imagine an opponent holding you down blindfolded, pouring water down your nose and throat. Would you not say and do anything to avoid that? And would not vengence be the first natural reaction?

And if result is what we were looking for, at whatever cost - where the hell is Bin Laden?

We have lost so much of ourselves, have caused so much pain to so many- for what? Now we carry the baggage of their ill-will, their pain, and our own scarlet letter U, for the Unjust.

And if Obama is trying to wipe that mark off, let him. If anyone can, he can.