I agree totally, and enjoy such a discussion. But, I can't seem to find a liberal that will avoid descending, or concede anything, or sustain such a discussion with a solid opponent. I've conceded much about Republicans, Bush and McCain; I hear no concessions from them about BHO.
On European talkboards that’s probably because the media is distorted in BHO’s favour. Sometimes the damage is done not by what’s said by either the the Left or the Right, but by what’s NOT said.
A specific example of this is the the convention of referring to the President Elect with his full name - Barack Hussein Obama.
This tactic doesn’t sit comfortably with Brits - not because they’re fans of Obama, it’s because they simply don’t subscribe to the notion that middle names are politically significant. They prefer to fight elections on the basis of values and policies, and in their book personal attacks don’t count.
In fact, they would view drawing attention to it to be a sign of monumental political weakness and moral cowardice on the part of the person making an issue out of it.
It’s a MAJOR cultural difference.
Nobody on the American Right has ever really explained to the Brits, in terms that they can understand, why his middle name is at all relevant to the debate. And believe me, they’ve had plenty of opportunities in the British media to do it. So the average Brit presumes it’s not really relevant.
The average Brit has plenty of “information” from the Left - for example, that the Bin Laden family (Osama excluded) are Westernised and welcome in America despite the connotations of their names. So that further increases their suspicion of the motives of the Right in bringing this up.
So on one hand you’ve got the Left pointing out something which on the face of it sends a positive message to the Brits about America in that it doesn’t judge people by virtue of their names, and on the other hand you’ve got the American Right apparently insinuating that anyone with the word Hussein in their name must be a mad mullah.
To a Freeper, the latter message is more appealing. Even to a right wing Brit, that message violates a deep-rooted cultural instinct of fair play.
American left wing comedians touring in the UK have made fortunes out of exploiting this fundamental lack of understanding on the part of the American Right.