Talking out of both sides of their mouths

Simon Tisdall: Barack Obama's silence on Gaza is damaging his reputation:

"Barack Obama's chances of making a fresh start in US relations with the Muslim world, and the Middle East in particular, appear to diminish with each new wave of Israeli attacks on Palestinian targets in Gaza. That seems hardly fair, given the president-elect does not take office until January 20. But foreign wars don't wait for Washington inaugurations.

Obama has remained wholly silent during the Gaza crisis. His aides say he is following established protocol that the US has only one president at a time. Hillary Clinton, his designated secretary of state, and Joe Biden, the vice-president-elect and foreign policy expert, have also been uncharacteristically taciturn on the subject."

So for those of you keeping score at home --

He has gone to foreign nations during the campaign (before he even got his parties nomination mind you) and made policy promises....

He has made sweeping statements about current military actions before he got full information on the matter ....

He has constantly come out with contradictions of Bush policy, even as PRESIDENT Bush has tried to move forward with it ....

But NOW? they are following 'prodicol' and not making a statement?
DUDE -- why start now? Its a no win situation, THAT's why he is suddenly tight-lipped .... no matter what he says or does in this matter he is going to offend a fairly major group of people and he can't bring himself to do that.

Everyone keeps comparing him to Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Lincoln --- but you know what? They were effective because when it came down to brass tacks they didn't care if a statement offended a particular group, they only knew what was right and said so .... otherwise we would still have slavery, jim crow laws, and child labor ....

Obama needs to get his thumbs out of his @$$ and say SOMETHING!!!!!

Open that big mouth of yours, kiddo, it never stopped you before!

Here's what I'm thinking -- as it stands now,

the Arab/Muslim part of the world (sorry if they aren't the samething, American error I'm sure - same way others see America as only Judeo-Christian) consider Obama 'muslim' because his father was {no matter what Obama's own choice of religion is ... kind of like how children of a Jewish parent are considered Jewish even if they practice another religion} so they feel he 'owes' them for his heritage

the Judeo-Christian part of the world, see him as one of 'God's "chosen" people' - cough, cough, gag - that he 'owes' them for their support in the election.

he is in a no win situation ... should he should just get those balls that he locked away when Jesse Jackson threatened them and SPEAK!!

say SOMETHING -- point out that its not a relgion war that its a political war like any other ... c'mon!!

where's your messiah now?