Should the President Win The Hearts And Minds Of The Arab People?

In the event that you don't click over to whitehouse dot gov, I found a nice interview conducted by Lebanese television of our fair president. I have two questions for those in the blogisphere:

1. Was this reporter too hard or too soft on the Shrubmiester?
2. Did the Presdident adequately answer her questions?

Have a gander:

Q Mr. President, as you know, the situation in Iraq is really deteriorating, the country is on the edge of a civil war. The support for U.S. policies among Arab public opinion is -- it's minimal. Many believe that you are focusing on Lebanon to divert attention from what's going on in Iraq, or it's a part of a whole scenario to control the region. Why did Lebanon get so much of your attention in the past year, whereas Syria controlled Lebanon for 30 years?

THE PRESIDENT: Because I believe in democracy. I believe democracy yields peace. That's a historical -- it's been proven throughout history that democracies yield the peace we all want. And I repeat to you: I want young boys and girls in Lebanon to grow up in peace. It's what I want.

I am -- I want the same thing for Iraq. I want Iraq to be a democracy -- not a U.S. democracy, but a democracy that takes into the -- the traditions, the Iraqi traditions and the history of Iraq, just like the Lebanese democracy will reflect the history of Lebanon and the traditions of Lebanon.

I believe there are such things as universal values, and I believe everybody desires to be free. And it's difficult in Iraq, no question about it. But I want -- I want you to remember that the Iraqi people expressed their opinion last December about civil war. Eleven million people went to vote in difficult conditions saying, we want freedom and we want democracy; give us a chance. And I'm convinced, ultimately, the people's will will win out and defeat those who want to try to create a civil war. Our position in the Middle East, and throughout the Muslim world, is that we want to be a partner in peace; we want to help people realize their potential.

And I hear the -- I hear the language about the United States, that United States is anti-Islam. It's just not true. We view Islam as a religion of peace -- or that the United States has got this design. But we'll protect ourselves. But the best way to protect ourselves ultimately is to encourage good relations amongst Muslim people and to encourage democracy. That's what we want. We want people to be able to be free. We want there to be minority rights and human rights; we want there to be women's rights. We believe in societies where women have got a chance to realize their dreams. We want there to be good education and good health care, and to the extent that people want our help, we're willing to help.

Q But so far, you're not winning the hearts and minds of Arab people. Why not?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, it's -- there's a lot of negative news on TV. There's a -- the enemy to democracy has got one tool, and that is the capacity and willingness to kill innocent people. And that shocks people. People of good conscience grieve when they see innocent life being taken by car bombs or when they read about beheadings.

And it's really important for those of us who believe in peace and the civilized world -- it's not civilized to kill innocent people, nor do I think it's religious. It's very important for us to be steadfast and strong and have faith in the capacity of freedom to help answer people's desires and change society for the better.

My dream is for there to be a Palestinian state at peace with Israel. My dream is for Lebanon's democracy to flourish. My hope is that Iraq's democracy will serve as an example for others, and so people can realize their potential. And I believe this is going to happen. But there are people who want to stop that progress. And I know that. But I'm a firm believer in the future, and we'll continue to work in a way that tries to share our deepest desires to help people, that will try to combat some of the ugly news people see on the TV with positive policies that uplift lives, give people a chance.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Unfortunately, we ran out of time.