Obama: Republican, Arab audiences

by Mark Silva

In the world of the "post-partisan president,'' President Barack Obama's first trip to Capitol Hill today to press for his economic stimulus is a call on Republicans only.

In the world of the "diplomacy first president,'' the president's first televised interview airs on an Arab TV network, his White House talk with al Aribaya News Channel that aired this morning, a full transcript viewable here in the Swamp.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, the Democrat from California, said today that she cannot recall in 16 years a president of one party going to the Capitol to meet solely with members of the other party. There could be some selective memory there, though it's true that former President Bush only made three trips to Capitol Hill during his eight years, and he didn't bypass the GOP.

And Hisham Melhem, the correspondent who interviewed Obama for al Aribaya, which bills itself as "the leading news channel in the Arab world,'' said today that it wasn't only Obama's words that will be taken seriously among the Arab audience viewing that interview - it's also the "tone'' of the new president, a tone of respect for a world that has come to view U.S. intentions in quite another light.

So the question is, will talking past the immediate audience of the president's own party get him anywhere with an economic stimulus bill that the Republican leadership appears to be locking down against - with the GOP holding out for more tax cuts than government spending as a means of boosting a the economy.

And, will talking past the immediate American TV audience that is accustomed to getting the first word from the president get him anywhere in a part of the world where the new administration faces a massive repair job in the torn image of U.S. motivations.

Al Aribaya not only broadcasts on the air, but also operates online, with a Web-site that draws a big share of its audience - more than 20 percent - from Saudi Arabia. The majority of the online audience is divided among many other nations, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and others.

And the one unanswered question of al Aribaya's first interview with Obama is when and where the president will make his promised public address to the Muslim world - he will travel to a Muslim capital for that. And the president suggested that the news break on that venue may be saved for another interview.