A caveat

Before I leave presidential politics behind, one more: want to hear something funny? In the Arab press, I'm seeing more and more people essentially saying that Bush would be better than Kerry. And these are not just the usual suspects, the ones who publish in English in the Wall Street Journal and National Review. I'm talking about Arabists and Islamists, in places like al Quds al Arabi and al Jazeera. The logic? Kerry has been extraodinarily pro-active in his pro-Israeli statements and policy positions. Arabs and Muslims pay attention to this, and are worried. Bush is the most pro-Israeli president in history, in their view, but - some argue - in a second term he won't have to worry about re-election and might be willing to confront the Israelis in a way that a first-term Democratic President won't.

Meanwhile, Kerry's decision to wage a hawkish campaign emphasizing a better, smarter, tougher war on terror worries a lot of Arabs and Muslims. Arab and Muslim moderates worry that Kerry will end up being tougher than Bush, and just haven't seen very much from him to reassure them. Michael Moore's Saudi-bashing (and Kerry's 'tough on Saudi' position) can sound like more general Arab bashing to many Arab ears. And radicals are pretty happy with Bush's policies, which have inflamed anti-American sentiment and bogged US forces down in Iraq.

Isn't that funny, and kind of ironic? Personally, I don't agree. I think that Bush's foreign policy has been so catastrophically bad that Kerry can't help but be better. I know that there are a lot of good ideas percolating in the Kerry campaign which would reassure moderate Arabs and Muslims - but would scare the heck out of the radicals who are our real enemies. I think that what keeps Kerry from invoking these (although John Edwards' speech the other day was an improvement) is mostly his determination to stay to Bush's right on the war on terror for the election... which may work well in domestic politics but worries Arabs and Muslims.

Comments

[praktike]

That really suprises me. I thought Bush would be public enemy #1 in the Arab world by now.

I think those who believe Kerry would be worse for the Palestinians may be deluded by Bush's bait an switch. Surely most people realize that when Bush says he's in favor of the road map and a Palestinian state, what he means is: I fully endorse the Likud agenda of Eretz Israel. Do they really think that Kerry would follow the same line?

[alex]

kerry seems to imply that he will follow the same line, but there is a hope that it's just campaign season chatter, whereas with bush you have a pretty proven track record. it is a bit suprising, but not as suprising as it should be, which makes it hard to get excited about voting. oy vavoy.

[Anna in Cairo]

There is another reason that the ARab media is carrying lots of anti-Kerry stuff. It is that Al Arabiya or Al Jazeera has reported that Kerry has a Jewish background. This is also the reason the Muslims and Arabs in the states voted overwhelmingly for Bush in 2000 - because Lieberman was Jewish.

[Ken]

How does the Arab media feel about Kerry with ancestors of Jews in Europe? How many people know outside US know that the Jewish community in the US often support the Democratic Party. If it was a Arab media, I would expect the chances would be higher that they will support the Republican Party, with less influence of Jewish community.