Social Science Research Council

President Obama’s much-anticipated speech to the Muslim world in Cairo last Thursday demonstrated once again that he is an extraordinarily skilled orator working with fantastic speech writers.  The speech also underscored the distinctly different approach his administration plans to take in handling U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.  Quoting the Koran, the Bible, and the Torah, President Obama laid out a plan that basically came down to a simple message: “We’re all in this together and we must all do our part.” But what exactly did he mean by “do our part”?

Despite disappointment in Obama’s arm’s length approach during the campaign, the vast majority of Arab and Muslim American voters supported him on Election Day. They felt his domestic and foreign policies would be a vast improvement over his predecessor’s. Like other Americans, they were hopeful. His recent televised interview on the Arabic satellite network, Al Arabiya, infused new life into that hope—hope that had been waning rapidly in the weeks leading up to the inauguration.