The Muslim World Hates the U.S. More Than Ever

A ‘Friendlier’ U.S., To No Avail        

Despite Obama’s Mideast outreach, the Muslim world still hates America.

 

 

If there was one thing the Left was certain about in 2008 it was this: George W. Bush had catastrophically undermined America’s world reputation with his unprovoked aggression and use of torture. The advent of Obama would reverse the damage. As Andrew Sullivan wrote in 2007, among the best assets Obama brought to the “rebranding” of America was “his face.” The election of Obama, and his friendly approach to the Muslim world, would make the United States safer as well as more just.

No one believed this tale more fervently than Obama himself. His first official act was to direct the closing of Guantanamo Bay within one year and the elimination of harsh interrogation techniques. The “message we are sending around the world,” he intoned, “is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle . . . in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals.” In Cairo a few months later, he declared “a new beginning” of relations between America and the Muslim world.   Cont. Reading >>

 



It's Hard to Be a Republican

 

 

 

 

 

 By Mona Charen

 

 

Even when the economy is terrible, when the incumbent Democratic president has not been able to demonstrate success on job creation or growth, and even when the standard of living for Americans is declining on his watch, the country will choose a Democrat "who cares about the problems of people like me" over the Republican. That alone is enough to make Republican heads spin for some time.

Many established beliefs about presidential politics have been proved false by Obama's reelection: 1.) The idea that, when unemployment is above 7 percent, incumbents fail; 2.) The notion that incumbent presidents who are reelected always increase their percentage of the vote over their first race; 3.) The idea that late deciders break for the challenger; 4.) The belief that if majorities say the country is on the "wrong track," the incumbent will be defeated. All wrong.
The problem with all of these so-called laws of politics is that they are based on a tiny sample. There have only been 20 presidential contests between 1936 (the year these "laws" are usually dated from) and today. That's too small a data set from which to glean reliable trends, far less iron laws of politics.
Romney made his share of mistakes. It's possible that if he hadn't alienated Hispanic voters during the primaries by his harsh anti-immigration stance, if he hadn't committed the "47 percent" blunder, and if he had more effectively rebutted the Obama smear campaign against him as a rapacious capitalist who was willing to inflict unemployment on thousands to increase his own and his shareholders' profits, he might have pulled out a victory.

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