Over to You, Mahmoud

Darragh was quick off the mark with Obama’s inauguration speech. It’s all here, and not a single ‘Yes We Can’ in there to keep the catchphrasers happy.

Obama could read out a steamy girl-on-girl Mills & Boon passage and the world at large would swoon and blog furiously about how great he is. This wasn’t quite so salacious. It was, and needed to be, more conservative than anything he said during the election campaign. His delivery is always strong and confident and imbued with stately gravity. The passage in the middle relating to America’s future dealings with challenging governments around the world was telling of a change.

“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

This puts the ball squarely in the court of the likes of Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmedinajad (and bankers from Anglo Irish who hide their loans), and it’s a far cry from ‘You’re either with us, or against us’. Change, eh?  Go The Rock Banana.