what the hell is all this traffic

So I didn't see Obama's speech as it started at about 6AM and I hate watching anything on replay as it totally takes the (very small) chance of something unlikekly happening out of the equation..  so I have very little in terms of original thought about the content of the speech.  I have also been on the road for about a month straight so haven't been able to get my usual dump of political commentary from Imus, TOR reader Zeke, Mark Levin and David Brooks.   What I can say having been to Egypt, is that what I'm most surpised at was the fact they could get the chaos which is normal Egyptian life, calmed down enough to at least allow 'Bama to come in and give his speech.    Driving down a street in Cairo is the equivalent of driving down the strip in Vegas.  It's bumper to bumper, it's 1000 degrees which everybody claims it's 'dry-heat'  and everybody acts like they are on vacation.  

Of course choosing Cairo (a country without a sense of democracy) was an interesting place to hold his speech but at least Obama's not into nation building and hiding behind farce of spreading democracy.  The Muslim world is probably still skeptical but I gotta believe they see some frankness and openess is heading in the right way.  From what I understand, Obama is not even as well liked in Egypt as he is in other middle eastern countries but the corruption in Egypt probably mirrors that in the Chicago political scene so he might feel at home that way.   

His stance on the Israeli/Palestinian situation seemed to at least put some of the real issues on the table without protecting the Israeli lobbying efforts for continued settlements but also did not let the Palestinians off the hook which I appreciated and I was glad that he made a point to discuss Iran nuclear ambitions and what that means for Israeli security.   For right or wrong, Obama's at least starting a dialogue with the Muslim world and I have to believe that getting a seat at the table is a good starting point for many people.
Of course we've had too many issues where the intial call for some kind of reconsoliation in Israel/Palestine has left us disappointed that I'll hold off judgement till I see some tangible results.      

I did have a good laugh when he ended his speech with his line..  'thank you and may god...uhh may Peace be Upon you"   I guess the teleprompter froze on him..