A couple of days ago–when it was announced that Senator Joe Lieberman would retain his Chairmanship position at the Homeland Security Committee–I wrote that this decision helped Barack Obama in more than one way. The obvious way is that the Democrats are now getting closer to their desired 60 Senate seat majority. But the more profound way is this:

I think this is only the beginning of a long, sometimes devastating re-education of the radical wing of the Democratic Party. Obama - as proved by his support for Lieberman to retain his chairmanship and also by his possible intention to appoint Clinton to head his foreign policy team (read “Cabinet post for Clinton roils Obamaland“) – isn’t going to fulfill the many dreams of his young and restless enthusiasts. Obama is now president-elect, and it’s time to be a grownup.
Lieberman – without even having such intention – is actually helping Obama and his friends. His reappointment will send them a sobering message: you can’t always get what you want.

You can apply the same logic to the report, in this morning’s Washington Post, according to which “Some in Arab World Wary of Clinton”:

Arabs, particularly Palestinians, are nervous that Obama seems prepared to give the job of top diplomat to a senator from New York who has spent eight years cultivating her pro-Israel constituency and would continue, they think, a lack of U.S. evenhandedness in refereeing the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Because of what they regard as her bellicose rhetoric toward Iran and her initial support for the Iraq war, some see her selection as a sign that Obama intends to conduct a more hawkish foreign policy than he suggested during the campaign.

Obviously, such a report should not be taken too seriously. This is, more than anything else, an attempt by experienced Arab observers to preempt a Clinton appointment–and to make the new Secretary understand that some accommodation of the Arab view is needed.

However, it is also a sign that the post-election period is, indeed, also a period of reeducation. As shown here before the election, the “world” wanted Obama to win the election. This enthusiasm about Obama initially included the Arab world. However, the closer we got to Election Day, the warier the Arab world became. Part of it was an automatic reaction to pro-Israel statements Obama was making, but the other part was more rational. Suddenly, Arabs realized that Obama, all differences aside, would be an American president–with all the baggage such job carries with it.

And now, Clinton’s nomination: What better proof for the Arabs that Obama intends to continue the reviled policies of America? Not Bush’s America–America in general. Surely, American policies will be tweaked and revisited and changed in some areas. But Obama does not intend, nor can he, change American policy in the Middle East in the profound ways his Arab supporters would like him to. (And if Israelis get cocky about Clinton’s friendliness, they’ll learn their lesson, too: his name is Jim Jones).

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 at 8:37 AM and is filed under Contentions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.