thank you, fareed

Finally someone is tackling the popular notion that Obama's worldview is too naive with intelligent analysis. I've always admired Fareed Zakaria for his political centrism, his unique take on issues of foreign policy and international diplomacy, and his ample yet appropriate incorporation of history in many of his arguments. So, while network news anchors and political pundits spend the slow news days of summer asking the same tired questions about Obama's experience, I prefer to get the unique perspective and smart commentary that is seemingly so rare:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/147763

I, for one, was baffled by the vehement castigation that Obama received when he proposed a diplomatic approach to the issues in the Middle East. Well, I suppose I wasn't surprised that hawkish conservatives accused him of buddying up with terrorists, more just shocked that so many people ate up such a ridiculous argument. Fareed refers to Obama as a realist, a term more traditionally applied to conservatives until George Bush trumped all semblances of reason with his high-flying--and blind--idealism. While this fits with the media's current storyline (Obama's shift to the political center), it also goes a step further in reaching out to traditional conservatives and foreign policy realists, encouraging them to take a step back from the ideological games and errant tossing around of buzzwords like "democracy" and "terrorism" that too often rule our country's foreign policy decisions. Nothing is simple, and Obama's approach is much more reasonable than the GOP vow to protect America from an imaginary monolithic enemy embodied by conveniently chosen countries (this time, it's Iran that is funding all global terrorism and anti-US hate, apparently, and we should apply some muscle instead of talking...sound familiar?). According to Fareed, "Obama rarely speaks in the moralistic tones of the current Bush administration. He doesn't divide the world into good and evil even when speaking about terrorism. He sees countries and even extremist groups as complex, motivated by power, greed and fear as much as by pure ideology. His interest in diplomacy seems motivated by the sense that one can probe, learn and possibly divide and influence countries and movements precisely because they are not monoliths." This is exactly the knowledgeable, reasoned approach that Fareed himself has been advocating for years, and it is one that combines realism and hope rather that idealism and pessimism. And it's exactly what we need.