Why I'm Wrong About Obama

Reza Aslan vents:

As someone who once was that young Muslim boy everyone seems to be imagining (albeit in Iran rather than Egypt), I'll let you in on a secret: He could not care less who the president of the United States is. He is totally unconcerned with whatever barriers a black (or female, for that matter) president would be breaking. He couldn't name three U.S. presidents if he tried. He cares only about one thing: what the United States will do.

I should point out that I did not argue that Obama's face was sufficient for re-tooling America's image in the Middle East. I said it was a huge advantage worth pondering in this election. I still think it is. There's also a swipe that supporting Obama somehow absolves those of us who placed our trust in Bush at the beginning of this conflict. I don't believe that. The fact that I admired a president who bungled a war, added $32 trillion to the next generation's debt and made America a torturing nation is a matter of record - and some shame. This is not about me or anyone else in the pundit class. It is simply about what's best for the US and the world. If Aslan has a candidate more suited to that task, he could always name him or her.