This clever Moroccan site — Obama to Speak in Morocco — is marketing that country as the best candidate for Obama’s proposed Islamic world speech. They’ve even drafted my post on the issue to their cause. Note that I have no realtionship [sic] with “Obama to Speak in Morocco,” whatsoever, and operate this blog and write on my own behalf and no one else’s, and recieve no financial or material gifts or compensation from any individual or organization.

In the comments section of his blog, Tidinit responds to the claim:

Interesting. Have not read your post on Obama, but I will now, because of its implications for our “waring” countries. Don’t worry if you are accused to take side. We know you are not and you are giving us some food for thought on issues pertaining to the region. I appreciated very well your past posts on Turkey and the new OPEC gas consortium. Among others, of course: Ya Khattou, Al Majlissi and your excellent post that I responded to. That is why I m checking almost every morning or night. Keep it up. We need you and you are opening our eyes on some key issues no one is talking about.

The petition for Obama to speak in Morocco originated with The Moroccan American Board, an organization based in Washington, D.C.

The campaign's major talking points follow:

Here is why It should be Morocco

What do you call an Arab, Muslim and African country which was the first to recognize the United States independence?

Kingdom of Morocco

What do you call a moderate, tolerating, peaceful country which is the strongest ally to the United States in the region?

Kingdom Of Morocco.

What do you call Obama's first speech in Morocco after his inauguration?

A historical moment.

Although only time will tell, thus far the campaign has been successful; the petitioners have even signed Washington D.C. Mayor Adrien Fenty on to endorse it at his own birthday party:

Among the invitees and contributors were Washington Moroccan Club members and friends-of-the-mayor that chatted with the mayor and informed him of the ongoing campaign to entice President elect Barack Obama to make his first foreign policy speech from Morocco. Mayor of Washington, Adrien Fenty, said ” it is a good Idea, Morocco is an ideal location for that speech” In a subsequent encounter with Jan and Phil Fenty, the mayor’s proud parents who were on hand for the mayor's 38th birthday bash. They run their Fleet Feet running shoe store in Washington for over 24 years, while Jan Fenty , the mayor's mother, worked as a DC public school teacher. His father, Phil Fenty, informed the Moroccan Community members present that his own grandfather is from Morocco. the Group members were startled by this unexpected piece of information and promptly admitted the mayor and his family to the Moroccan American community since the mayor's own great grand father was Moroccan and celebrated the event with a well deserved glass of fresh mineral water.

Obama won because of his promises to the citizens of this country and not because of his skin color. Obama won because he is the hope to better the cursed economy of US and save the American dream of people.

I'm not really sure, why some people insist on bringing up the skin color & SLAVERY every time they make a comment about the presidential elections. I even started believing that some people can't look beyond their skin color!

Yaman, who studies in the United States, shares a story of celebrating Obama's victory in Berkeley, California:

As soon as Obama finished giving his acceptance speech, crowds of students began to gather in the streets of Berkeley. By the time I melded myself into the march somewhere on Durant Avenue, hundreds of students had already amassed. We ran down Durant feeling that a huge weight was off our shoulders, that there were only better days ahead. As we rejoiced, preparing to say goodbye forever to those familiar faces of the Bush regime, it dawned on me that we had no idea where we were going. Where was this march headed?

No one really knew, but we kept going, cheering the whole way. Eventually someone yelled, “to the library,” so there we went, our high spirits annoying those who were trying to study for midterms. Whenever the banality of our pit stop struck us, we simply started marching again. Soon we headed down to Shattuck where we paused somewhere around the BART station. We stood there again roaring in ecstasy about the win. When we got bored again, we kept moving until we found another similarly neutral, meaningless location to rest at until we yet again became restless. There was no organization to the march, no one there to tell us what the win would mean for us, no stops at locations with any political significance. It was more of a happiness movement, than a political one. At least we’d been delivered from the Bush years.

Yaman concludes that, while he's aware that Obama's election stands for change, he is also wary of the vigilance we must keep:

I went through high school and most of college under the Bush administration. Every social issue I ever learned about, fixing it was always a matter for “the long haul.” In these times of never-ending wars, arrogant, disrespectful, and unresponsive government, we always had to fight for everything in “the long term.” Well, Obama now has a long term ahead of him in which he can try to deliver on all these demands for change. We can’t take it for granted, though, that a win for Obama is a win for progressive policies, even if–maybe–it will inaugurate a progressive mood. One hopes that the Democratic party and the Obama administration have a little more direction than our happy crowd did, or we will have to remind them that we did not support them for the sake of supporting Democrats, but because we wanted them to do what we want them to do. We can hope, now, that these won’t be four more years of the same violent Bush rhetoric and policies; but surely, they will be four years of holding Obama and the Democratic party accountable for what they’ve promised and what we’ve asked for, rather than letting the mesmerizing aura stilt our principles and expectations.

Born in Damas reminds us not to forget about the United States' recent transgressions in Syria:

Amidst the celebration of Obama's election as President of the United States the world seems to have forgotten the recent helicopter incursion by US forces into Syria to allegedly terminate some individual that apparently constituted a danger to US national security.

Last month a raid was carried out a few kilometres inside the Syrian border with Iraq.

I have not seen much reaction in the US media about it nor much outcry in international places maybe because the Americans are a bit embarrassed and do not know what to think about this ‘incident' and maybe because the Europeans are totally flabbergasted as it does not fit in with the direction the current Syrian -EU-US relations was going into?

Maysaloon spells it out for those who might praise America:

America's mask is back on and Americanists the world over are breathing a sigh of relief. Those of them in the Arab world have had a particularly difficult time over the last eight years. Whilst they have had plenty of years experience becoming apologists for the murder of Palestinians (nobody cares about these anymore), the genocide in Iraq was a much harder pill to swallow and many felt compelled to publicly criticise the United States - an unthinkable act during the Clinton years. But what has changed in reality with the election of Obama? Nothing, and these Americanists will concede this. Article after article, many say how wonderful he will be and how historic his election is. They then proceed to add the caveat that, in reality, little will change concerning America's position with regards to Israel, the Arabs and Iraq. But that isn't the point. They then proceed to tell you that this is irrelevant, because his election means “change” has come, Americana is back and we can all feel good about it again. So all that has happened is that America has made people ‘feel good' again, so that they stop caring about what it really does, since nothing will change in the Middle East on their own admittance. After eight years of reality, responsibility, guilt and shame, the United States' apologists can now sit back and take a drag of premium Americana hashish. Relax, everything is going to be ok.

His service to the Israel Defense Forces and pro-Israel slant is a point of controversy for many. Some Middle Eastern and North African bloggers, perhaps already wary of Obama, expressed their views on Rahm Emanuel's appointment.

Palestinian Pundit sums up general sentiment with one brief headline:

For all those hoping that perhaps Obama was secretly pro-Palestinian, very bad news…

Democratic congressman Rahm Emanuel has reportedly been approached by US presidential hopeful Barack Obama to be his chief-of-staff.

Body on the Line, a blog written by an American citizen living in Palestine, details Emanuel's history and expresses her opposition to his appointment:

emanuel served under the clinton administration (does this sound like change?). but not only is emanuel a former white house adviser, and a terrorist who served in the itf. he also is the son of a terrorist–by british standards as he served in irgun with menachem begin (recall begin was wanted as a terrorist by the british for bombing the british headquarters of the king david hotel–wanted poster above). or just check out their own crest showing a map in the background that includes all of palestine and jordan.

Elijah Zarwan, also an American but based in Egypt, had this to say about Emanuel's new position:

I have no doubt Emanuel is an intelligent and competent man, however many passports he holds. I assume he has the respect of at least the Clinton people Obama will choose to staff the White House. And Emanuel’s father’s mistakes may not reflect his own beliefs.

Regardless, the appointment of the son of an Irgun militant to such an important office will confirm many Arabs’ worst suspicions about the United States before the ink has dried on the headlines announcing Obama’s historic victory.

Raed Jarrar, writing for In the Middle, hopes that those who support Obama will take time to ask the tough questions:

I know that the confetti has not settled down yet, but I think it's time already to ask the Obama-Biden campaign some questions about their foreign policy plans, especially regarding the U.S. role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and regarding ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Egyptian Zeinobia shares her predictions for the rest of Obama's cabinet, and says this about Emanuel:

Rahm Emanuel, the Israeli origin and the son of a Zionist Israeli terrorist group is widely going to be the chief of Staff at the White House, a blow to all those who put hopes on Obama but that man was always since the rally It is not the first time for Emanuel to work in the White House because he used to be there in the Clinton's cabinet.
Strangely no one brought his father connection with the Irgun ,the infamous group that did the terrible Massacre of Deir Yassin Negatively in the rally!!

Finally, Lebanese Chess takes a deeper look at other issues going on between the U.S. and Israel, in particular Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's recent warning to Obama regarding dialogue with Iran. Of Livni's comments, the blogger said:

With still over two months until Obama is sworn in, Israel has moved quick to influence Obama's policy vis-a-vis Israel's interests in the region. It marks the beginning of the Israeli-AIPAC battle to ensure Obama toes their line.

The Israelis have set the stage for a key struggle between AIPAC and an Obama administration over Iran. If Obama continues to surround himself by staunch pro-Israelis in his administration, AIPAC and Israel won't have much difficulty twisting the president-elect to conform to Israel's goal of regional domination.

Members of the Moroccan American Community Board celebrated in Washington, D.C. The group shared photos and congratulations on their blog:

Frenzied celebration broke out throughout the country, following the historic win by Barak Obama, the first African American President of the country.
in one swoop, America became the country where everything is possible, an example to the world and it made possible a chance to repair the damage done by President Bush two terms in office.

Barak Obama and the wave of victorious democrats candidates that won will try to revise, correct or repeal some of the most egregious laws that have been passed under the Bush Administration and Republican Congress, such as Patriot Act and others.
The New administration will hopefully usher in a new, and warmer relations with Morocco, Africa and the rest of the third world…

The group also posted a video:

Myrtus, a Moroccan based in the U.S., advised President-Elect Obama:

Congratulations Mr Obama! I'm looking forward to the CHANGE you promised, so hold on tight……I'll be watching you.

Australian writer Suzanna Clarke, who normally resides in Fez, reported from Times Square as Obama's victory was announced:

When Barack Obama's victory was announced, the crowd in Times Square, New York, released the pent up energy that had been held in for eight long years. They shrieked and danced in the street, high-fived and hugged one another. Cars drove past honking, passengers hanging out of windows. A chant began that continued for hours, “Obama, Obama, Yes We Can.”

“We've shown the world that we can elect a black man,” a black man said as he shook my hand. “Unity has prevailed. Next time it's a woman's turn.”

Also in The View from Fez, the story of a Fassi Obama supporter:

Driss, a twenty-five year old woodworker from the Fez Medina, said he and his friends had waited up late at night to hear the results of the election and were extremely pleased. “The curse of Bush will soon be over. This is a good thing for the whole world,” he said. When asked what he thought of the President Elect, he responded with a broad grin and said, in English, “He's so cool”.

Writer Laila Lalami, not one to mince words, was honest in sharing her relief:

At last, at long fucking last, a new leadership.

lovefrom1stbite, a Moroccan who moved recently to the U.S., acknowledges that these are the first steps toward change, and says:

Thanks to the tough to win states of Ohio, Virginia, & Florida. Obama has made it to the white house as the first black president. Obama was successful in convincing those major Republican states to vote for Change. It is a big historical day for this nation. Obama’s Electoral College landslide & the long awaited for victory, mean a lot to the Americans who are craving “Change”. The change that will bring a reconciliation with the major issues of this nation, the change that promise a better & secure future for the next generations.

CitoyenHmida [fr] celebrates Obama's election, saying:

Il est 5 heures du matin ici. Une nuit blanche pour voir BARAK H. OBAMA consacré premier homme de couleur président des Etats Unis! Un nouveau président qui représente l'espoir et le changement! J'ai beau ne pas être un admirateur fanatique des USA, de leur culture, de leur façon de vivre et de concevoir le monde, il faut bien le reconnaitre: c'est le pays où tout est possible!

Bravo, Barak H. Obama et courage! Tellement de boulot t'attend, man!

Finally, Rachid Jankari, [fr] whose tagline reads “Je partage, donc j’existe” (“I share, therefore I am”) shares his feedback on the elections as “a citizen of the world”:

J’ai assisté pour la première fois à une soirée électorale américaine à Casa. La partie officielle était dans un palace à Casa. Par contre, une autre ambiance règne dans le resto Ricks Cafe (qui est d’ailleurs supporter d’Obama).

En discutant avec plusieurs américains, dont les yeux étaient rivés sur CNN et les sites web des candidats, je me suis rappelé mes cours de droit, et plus particulièrement les notes de lecture de Tocqueville sur la démocratie et le rêve américain « de la démocratie américaine » .

Jankari continued, expressing his hopes for his own country:

J’ai eu un sentiment de malaise et de jalousie. Et pour cause, dans les pays arabes, y compris le Maroc, l’accès au pouvoir est héréditaire. C’est un indicateur sur le degré de notre retard politique.

D’ailleurs, je n’ai jamais voté à une élection dans mon pays, parce que j’avais et je continue d’avoir la conviction, que tout le processus du choix n’est qu’une chimère dans un régime marqué par une prédominance de la monarchie sur les rouages du pouvoir.

Ce n’est pas un discours alarmiste. Mais, c’est la réalité. Un modèle de pouvoir basé sur une légitimité héréditaire intègre dans ses genèses l’archaïsme et l’arbitraire quelque soit les bonnes intentions.

En tout cas, Mabrouk pour les américains, et à Obama. Au moins, le peuple a le droit de choisir et de punir ses dirigeants.
En attendant, le rêve « .ma » pour un monde de gouvernance meilleur continue….

*Editor's note: This very likely refers to the blogoma, or the Moroccan web presence in general.

Land and People, in a post entitled “Yes, he can!” expresses his trepidation over Obama's election:

Liberals all over the world are celebrating the election of Barak Obama. I will not add to all that has been said or published, but my take on this is that he is the President of the United States, and not Barak Obama. That said, I would really like to hope for change. After all, Obama showed that change was possible: he himself changed from a supporter of Palestinian rights into a man who believes that Jerusalem is the historic capital of Israel. He also changed during his campaign from: “no Iraq war for me please, I’m trying to quit” into: “all right I’ll have some, but a tiny piece please”.

People in the Middle East are expecting to see Obama act differently from previous US president because he is darker skinned. Time will show again that the color of the skin has little to do with politics, democracy and equity. Just look at the Arab World with its home grown dictatorships.

The blogger received a number of reactions to his post. One commenter suggests we give Obama the benefit of the doubt:

Let's give him the benefit of the doubt. It was a tough road to get him elected, and the biggest chunk of his campaign money came from people like me and every one else who donated in the $25 and $50. This is a lot of people and they will hold him as accountable as the corporations. This is a man who believes in and respects the US constitution. He believe in grassroots organizing and the power of the people. I did have tears. How could I not? I know more BO than I ever knew who and what our Lebanese president stands for! I cried because I got to experience real democracy and citizenship more than I ever could in Lebanon. I cried because every American child can dream of “if I were a president”, but not so for every Lebanese child. What do you say to you children? that you can have a dream because you don't belong to the correct religion?

Change and justice for the ME is not going to happen overnight, and not within few decades. It takes baby steps.

Farfahinne, a self-declared “socialist from Lebanon,” believes it's up to Americans to seize the opportunity for change. The blogger writes:

There will be many battles ahead as the expectations on Obama run into the limitations of the Democratic Party. The central question for the left in the US will be whether they can relate to the enormous hope that Obama’s election has generated among ordinary people.
The left has be part of building grassroots campaigns that can force Obama to deliver, but also build up forces in opposition to the pro-capitalist policies of both major US parties.
Obama’s election has opened up a space for the left, the working class, the anti-war movement, black people and others to push their own agendas. They have to seize this opportunity.

Lebanese Chess is happy about the election results, but also apprehensive about Obama's foreign policy:

Obama has vowed to reform the health system, vowed to be strict on Wall Street behaviour, vowed to tackle climate change.

However, what should we expect on foreign policy? Obama will no doubt return to the multi-lateral stage, consulting European allies on major decisions, and re-invest into the United Nations process.

Obama wants to talk to Russia, instead of chide it. Obama wants to talk to Syria and Iran, instead of waving a stick. Obama wants to invest in Afghanistan's economy, and he wants to commence an exit strategy from Iraq.

But will he be able to fulfil his desires?

The blogger also tackles the elephant in the room, questioning what Obama will do about AIPAC:

It is certain that in order to pursue a moderate foreign policy that mirrors US national interests, Barack Obama will have to do the unthinkable for an American president … take on AIPAC.

Jeha's Nail congratulates Obama and the American people, then leaves us with this message of caution:

In the United States, Provided he applies to the white house the same shrewd determination that he used to rise to the top, the United States will fare rather well. However, will he succumb to hubris and believe his own rhetoric, the outlook will not be so rosy; messiahs and prophets do not always fare well, and quite a few are already shopping for a cross and nails.

And, for (n+m)th time, do not sell us out…

In the rest of the world, the outlook depends on their current alliance or opposition to the power of the American Imperium. They all expect either a saviour or a douche, but they will all get a shrewd president, intent on increasing his power and therefore that of his country.

So, as reality sets in, expect most election promises to be broken, and if the style changes, do not expect the actions to be dramatically altered.

They voted for a messiah, and got a mere 44th president.

Of course, on the very last day of election campaign, it becomes a topic for my friends. Obama has been emphasizing “Change” throughout his campaign since primary. One friend asks me: “Will Obama cahange everything overnight on November 5?” Her assumption sounds reasonable, given that all media present in a way that it seems everything will be changed after the elction day, no matter who wins (though Bush and McCain have an agree list way longer disagree list).

The truth is, NO. Most things won’t change overnight after casting your ballot.

Life goes on the same after November 4. The new American president will not inaugurate until January 2009. Dow Jones and Nasdaq still open snd close at the same time. Oil price still fluctuates. American troops are still in Iraq and Afghanistan. When 20 leaders from around the world gathers in Washington to discuss about global financial tsunami/crisis on November 15, George W. Bush, a lame duck or not, will still be the host. (I wonder whether the new president will be invited, though. He should, as he will have to be take over the government and be responsible for all decisions made in that summit.)

Many people encourage us to vote, saying “your single vote will change everything.” Yes, but it won’t change things in real terms immediately, at least not overnight. The only instant effect I can think of so far is HOPE. The results will light up many hopes that the next four years will be better than the past eight (Can you imagine worse four years than now??).

No matter it’s going to be Obama or McCain, let’s wish hope will prevail.

Five Good Reasons

1. His experience with poverty first in Indonesia where he witnessed -reportedly- the effects of an ill advised American foreign policy, supporting an ugly dictatorship, then in Chicago where he preferred working as a community organizer and civil rights lawyer rather than choosing a promising and predictably lucrative career as a corporate lawyer, having just graduated from a prestigious law school.

2. He opposed the war on Iraq well before the illegal invasion started, then he advocated an early and phased withdrawal in concordance with the opinion of a crushing majority of the “international community” (meaning: ordinary people's).

3. Despite some early contradictory declarations, he generally seeks a renewed diplomacy with a more seasoned approach with Cuba, Syria and Iran. Of course, and as far as the middle-east is concerned, the pressure and the level of infiltration by the Israel lobby and by the Military industrial complex are such that it will be difficult in case Obama had the integrity, soundness and willingness to act as an honest broker, to overturn the flawed system in place. Of course Arabs have to walk the walk after having talked the talk, far from primitive and futile violence.

4. The power of symbolism. In other words: the simple fact of having a black, self-made, left-leaning (in American terms of course), charismatic and clearly smart American president (at least in comparison with the imbecile outgoing one) may in and of itself contribute to temper international relations, and inject hope an positive expectation not only amongst Americans but also to some extent, amongst young secular people over the world -literally.

5. He has met late Edward Saïd. This reason may sound childishly naive and senseless but this is a reason enough to me, if I were American, to vote for this guy, knowing that at some point of his existence, has been exposed to the reasonable discourse of a secular, exiled Palestinian intellectual explaining eloquently his plight and that of his people.

Now of course one could argue for hours about the nature of the political system in America, which is, as far as I'm concerned, more of an oligarchy that it is a democracy, but again an Obama president has the potential to change something of some size, to some extent positively to make the current status quo more viable.

The visionary dream of a compassionate pastor from Atlanta called King, nearly forty years ago may come soon true. Let us just hope that the man now about to achieve that dream will set about to also fulfill the other vision of Dr. King dreaming of a Revolution of Values.

This image though has been a bit nuanced by the fact that, in Michigan, there are some fervent supporters of the Republican Party like those who lifted signs supporting McCain on the day of Obama’s speech here at MSU. But there are also a few encounters I made recently that made me see things from a different perspective.

Some of these people I am talking about are Americans, and some are foreigners, including some of Middle Eastern descent. What they believe is that the Republican policy is what is needed in the Middle East. It’s not that they are happy with the situation there, but that, according to them, the problem with Democrats is that they are “flexible”, and that solving some problems, like the Syrian presence is Lebanon and Saddam’s rule (both of which ended during Bush’s presidency) need “firm actions”, like those the Republicans, rather than the Democrats, are able to take.

On the other hand, other people from Middle Eastern origins and even some Americans still think that no matter what problems any country might have, the solution should come from the inside, and that the contribution of foreign countries, including influential ones like the United States of America, should take the shape of diplomatic efforts rather than military action, which only creates more violence and hatred.

In all cases, none of the two candidates can be said to be the absolutely perfect solution for the challenges facing US internal affairs and foreign policy, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Obama though, the candidate I personally think is more likely to make the right decisions…

In about 24 hours, a new four-year era will start, and the world will have to deal with it no matter who the new president is.

Meanwhile, have fun watching the Homer Simpson trying to exercise his right to vote :)