Although I'm somewhere between the Know Nothings and the Know Betters, the message I'm getting here is that it's ok for Muslims to hate us but not ok for us to distrust them.
Whatever. Somebody bungled this right at the start. As a strategeric Bush admin practice, ear-to-the-ground has become head-in-the-sand. The President is justly proud of himself for not leading by poll results, but that shouldn't mean one doesn't pay heed to public opinion at all.
I think the problem with your post is that you paint all Arabs/Muslims with the same brush. Do all Muslims hate us? Do all Arabs hate us? Should we distrust all of them?
If the answer is yes... and all hate us, then we should distrust them all... But if the answer is no, then what happened this week in Washington was disgraceful...
"the message I'm getting here is that it's ok for Muslims to hate us but not ok for us to distrust them." Funny, I never considered aiding us in the war on terror and wanting to do business with us when no American company wanted the contract to be the actions of those who "hate" Americans. Not all Muslims hate us and it is OK for us to trust those who don't.
"The President is justly proud of himself for not leading by poll results, but that shouldn't mean one doesn't pay heed to public opinion at all." Unless, of course, it is patently obvious that the "public opinion" was manipulated by shameless demagoguery and misinformation. Bush is wise not to let public opinion guide him, when the issue impacts national security.