The part I heard was not worth criticizing. This speech probably will make Obama a superstar among many Muslims, just for kissing their butts and saying he is one of them. The danger is in his belief that his personal appeal can disarm the jihadists.
What happens when we don’t have a Muslim president? Do we have to elect a Chinese next to avoid that problem? North Korean next? Russian?
The reliance on personal appeals only goes so far and can boomerang.
Good point. However at this moment in history,(key words: this moment) it is important for our self interest to regain the trust and respect of the moderate Muslim world. They can be potential allies in marginalizing the extremists and terrorists. Terrorism is not in the best interest of anybody (us, moderate Muslims, the rest of the world) and if O can help them see that they are part of the solution, it might help take some of the heat off of us..our resources, our troops, etc. Again to your point. They may be needed in the other parts of the world sooner than we expect.