The Power of Personality

Everyone wants to see an image OF THEMSELVES IN THE WIHITE HOUSE' IS OBAMA NOT THE CLOSEST RACE TO ZAKARIA. WITHOUT GOING INTO A BIG ERSONALITY EVALUATION, IT MAKES SENSE THAT OBAMA IS A FOREIGNER' S DREAM, THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SEES AMNESTY, THE DISENFRANCHISED FOREIGN OLICY EXTERT' FEELS INCLUDED, AND THE DREAM OF UNIFICATION IS REALIZED WHERE EVERYONE CAN REALIZE THE AMERICAN DREAM FROM ANY CAST. tHE REALITY IS THAT ONE MAN CANNOT FULFILL EVERYONE'S DREAMS, IT IS A MOVEMENT' LIKE CIVIL RIGHTS, MILLIONS OF HUMANS FROM ALL RACES DEMANDING A CHANGE. ANTIWAR MOVEMENTS ARE THE CLOSEST THING, THEY LIFTED THE DEMOCRATS INTO CONGRESS, LITTLE DID THEY KNOW THAT THEY WERE VOTING IN THE SAME FORCES.. iNSURANCE COR, DRUG COM, WEALTHY ESTABLISHMENTS, ALL RUN THE MACHINERY. THEY HAVE TO WANT CHANGE, WHY ON EARTH WOULD THEY WANT CHANGE, THEY MAKE BILLIONS EVERYDAY AND MAINTAIN US DUMB.

I read Obama's books in order to better understand him and his personality. Mr. Zakaria has captured Obama's person quite aptly and clearly defines why Obama has the qualities needed to lead this country while showing the rest of the world that we are ready to rejoin the forces of good.

I think Obama's Shift of International Terror and Threat Counter Policy from Iran is based opon his experienced and knowledge after living in Asia and closely studying what Iranis actually think.Iran and Irani people have never been a threat to people of USA.Because they have acontrolled school of thought which is commanded by a highly learned supreme leader who can not allow them to do act of terror agaist people individually or following some self interpreteing religious leaders .It is the foundation of the Faith in Iran.While the supreme Command may never allow the people to carry the attacks of terror on people because it wil negate his position as afaith ledaer which promises to protect Humanity and follows Imam Ali who treated the Jews accordimg to Torat,Christians according to Bible and the Muslims acording to Koran.

Since I began living abroad over 12 years ago, my views on my own country, the U.S. have changed greatly. And I believe in a good way. I am now much more open minded as I have been educated by my international surroundings and seen the world outside of my own country. When I go back to the U.S. to visit I am apalled by the media's view of the world. And I do blame the media is it is the only outlet for most Americans to see the world byond their own.

Farid has been my favourite 'Fancy writer' for Newsweek since my Graduation days at Karachi University.His aproach is always interesting ,his notion on Obama with examples of a German Jew turned American Mr. Kassinger ,Mr.Khalilzade or some other immegerants who gave mervolous and efficient nput is beyond any question.But to be apresident,it makes more difficult for aperson who is immigrant.Because the President of America is the President;who sometimes may go at extreme nationalism to prove his nationalism with the host country.Look at Austrian Hitler who went crazy in proving himself a German nationalist and gave Germany the extreme wrath.
Mauj Alvi

jojoc10 and steve02001: Thank you for 'getting' Fareed Zakaria's point of view. He points out in a self-deprecating way that you do not have to have a ph. D (and if you do, it only sustains you to a certain point) in order to understand the other side of the world and foreign policy options and prescriptions associated with it. In fact, he proposes idea that the best and viable approach is actually throwing out any "elitist" approach in favor of a "personal identity", as in being able to identify yourself with the other side in the foreign- or global policy equation. Those with this predisposition would more than likely be successful in the contemporary state of global affairs. Culture, personal identity, and a global interdependency worldview always tromps any "elitist" prescription in foreign or global policy. And that is what Fareed Zakaria actually said.

jojoc10 and steve02001: Thank you for 'getting' Fareed Zakaria's point of view. He points out in a self-deprecating way that you do not have to have a ph. D (and if you do, it only sustains you to a certain point) in order to understand the other side of the world and foreign policy options and prescriptions associated with it. In fact, he proposes idea that the best and viable approach is actually throwing out any "elitist" approach in favor of a "personal identity", as in being able to identify yourself with the other side in the foreign- or global policy equation. Those with this predisposition would more than likely be successful in the contemporary state of global affairs. Culture, personal identity, and a global interdependency worldview always tromps any "elitist" prescription in foreign or global policy. And that is what Fareed Zakaria actually said.

jojoc10 and steve02001: Thank you for 'getting' Fareed Zakaria's point of view. He points out in a self-deprecating way that you do not have to have a ph. D (and if you do, it only sustains you to a certain point) in order to understand the other side of the world and foreign policy options and prescriptions associated with it. In fact, he proposes idea that the best and viable approach is actually throwing out any "elitist" approach in favor of a "personal identity", as in being able to identify yourself with the other side in the foreign- or global policy equation. Those with this predisposition would more than likely be successful in the contemporary state of global affairs. Culture, personal identity, and a global interdependency worldview always tromps any "elitist" prescription in foreign or global policy. And that is what Fareed Zakaria actually said.

jimslimo: I think you can take that last remark in which he references his degree another way. I would like to think he mentioned that sarcastically as a jab at himself, just as he takes a jab at all of those who claim to fully comprehend all foreign policy matters (which in his estimation would be impossible). He credits Mr Obama for his "power of personality," all the while being self-depricating saying that despite all of his fancy degrees, he still does not hold of all of the answers. I think it would require you to re-read his article to understand the point he actually emphasizes in the line that you have pulled out as "elitist."

Always a pleasure to read Dr. Zakaria's articles. This one was terrific until the last 2 sentences which sounded so elitist. To wit: "Trust me on this. As a Ph.D. in International relations, I know what I'm talking about."

I would never deny that Americans tend to see the world through an American telescope, but let's not forget we don't have to go to the mountain, the mountain is here. Our nation is also uniquely filled with diversity, whether it is accepted or not. As for Mr. Zakaria's "She's been involved in foreign policy for eight years in the White House (though in a sideways fashion as First Lady) ", "defense" of Senator Clinton, it's quite clear he's speaking from his limited gender view. So far, we are holding Senator Clinton up to the male model we are used to. As a female, she offers a unique perspective no other American leader has, and in my book, her gender is her biggest asset. And yes, she does have Bill. And Bill has Hillary. Amazingly there are men in power who view their spouses as true partners and equals. John Edwards is also one of these men, yet when Elizabeth is out on the trail, the media puts her in her place as merely a spouse. I see Fareed's comments as more of the same b.s. we've been getting from the media for years - artificial and without substance.

"She's been involved in foreign policy for eight years in the White House (though in a sideways fashion as First Lady) and then seven years as a senator. Most of the Democratic Party's blue-chip foreign-policy advisers support her. Plus, she has Bill."

Quite the petty and xenophobic comment. While I would argue that Laura Bush fits the "sideways fashion of First Lady" description Zakaria offers, I would never put Hillary Clinton in the same category. In fact, as First Ladies go, she's in the same ilk as Eleanor Roosevelt. I give kudos to men like Bill and John Edwards who have the courage and conviction of viewing their wives as equals and partners, rather than trophies and arm candy. Senator Clinton's experience as a successful woman in a country such as ours makes her uniquely qualified and insightful into the complexities of other nations. There are differences in gender, and so far, Hillary is being compared to the male model, which, quite frankly has gotten us in the mess we are now. There are strenghts she brings that are ignored for fear of getting into the gender debate, but now is the perfect time for this discussion to take place.

Having been born in another country, but having lived most of my life in the U.S., I can see Mr. Zakaria's point; it gives you a different prespective on things, you're not as xenophobic, you're more open to other foreign views. I always chuckle when people, who have never been outside their home State, much less the US, say that the US is the greatest country in the world. George W. never traveled abroad much and see the mess he got us into by not understading the other side? The world is getting smaller and we need someone that can see the other side's point of view; that someone is BARACK OABAMA!

There is something disatrously wrong with America when someone like Fareed Zakaria can become Editor of Newsweek and writes, " Zalmay Khalilzad was, by common consent, a superb ambassador in Afghanistan and Iraq." What planet does Mr. Zakaria live on? As a Pakistani who knows Afghanistan very well (never mind that I went to an Ivy leage school), I can tell you that the seeds of the current mess that Afghanistan is in today, were sown by Mr. Khalizad who failed to form even a working relationship with Pakistan - the key U.S. ally. His tenure in Iraq too was an unmitigated disaster and saw the rise of pro-Iran cleric Muqta-Al Sadr as a powerful leader. Perhaps, Mr. Zakaria needs to do some on-site internship in these troubled parts of the world to get a dose of reality.

There is something disatrously wrong with America when someone like Fareed Zakaria can become Editor of Newsweek and writes, " Zalmay Khalilzad was, by common consent, a superb ambassador in Afghanistan and Iraq." What planet does Mr. Zakaria live on? As a Pakistani who knows Afghanistan very well (never mind that I went to an Ivy leage school), I can tell you that the seeds of the current mess that Afghanistan is in today, were sown by Mr. Khalizad who failed to form even a working relationship with Pakistan - the key U.S. ally. His tenure in Iraq too was an unmitigated disaster and saw the rise of pro-Iran cleric Muqta-Al Sadr as a powerful leader. Perhaps, Mr. Zakaria needs to do some on-site internship in these troubled parts of the world to get a dose of reality.

Enter Your Comment
I do not understand why so many people could miss what Fareed Zakaria is trying to point out here. If you are a minority in a country like the United States of America and you are a first or second generation with strong and dorminant cultural link to a different country or people, let alone being a product of a racially mixed family like our future president Sen. Barack Obama. Obama's background is a thing to be envied, especially in the 21st century where global interdependency is becoming a local neigborhood affair. Think what can be be acheived diplomatically with leaders like Obama in power? The balance of power is shifting from the West to the East (China and India on the fast lane) and for America to leverage her power in this new century, a new perspective and consciousness is needed to direct foreign - or I should say global policy. Dr. Fareed Zakaria, keep on keeping on educating us on these new global paradigms even though it's too deep for others to understand.

Before Fahreed Zakaria praises Henry Kissinger, he should interview Chile???s president, Veronica Michelle Bachelet Jeria, who, along with both her parents, were tortured by General Augusto Pinochet, the military dictator who seized power in a coup that deposed Chile???s democratically elected government. Kissinger engineered the coup to brought Pinochet to power.Thousands of Chileans were tortured and executed because of Kissinger. In fact, Kissinger actually favored anti-communist, ???authoritarian??? regimes, and many of these regimes had worse records of human rights??? violations than the communist regimes in the so-called Evil Empire. Perhaps Zakara can find out from Bachelet what sort of torture she endured, and perhaps he should subject himself to the same torture, just to see how it feels. Zakara wrote a pompous article about the way people on other countries see America. Very well. How do the millions of people who were tortured in the name of the American way of life feel about America? How do all the innocent people tortured in Abu Ghraib by Americans feel about America? Are these questions that Zakaria cares to examine? I realize that Zakaria has a PhD in international relations, but Pangloss in Candide had PhD as well. As a retired school teacher, I spent a whole life time trying to undo the messes made by misguided ???reforms??? perpetrated by PhD???s in Education, most of whom couldn???t survive a week in a classroom in my school. In many cases, PhD is just another name for educated fool.

Let's be fair to Obama. He has served 8 years in the Illinois State Senate prior to becoming a Illinois Senator. That is like being Governor for eight years. He has over a decade of elected experience. He started from nothing and was voted in and re-elected by his constituency because of his steady progress as a soltions oriented representative. As a Senator in Washington D.C he has served on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, In addition, he is a member of the the Foreign Relations Committee and served the Veterans Affairs Committee and In 2005 and 2006, he served on the Environment and Public Works Committee as well. Obama has always exceled beyond his years and his peers have always looked to him for leadership. At Harvard he had to be twice as good as everyone else in order to attain the status as the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.

Hillary Clinton rise is much different than Obama's. From the time she was a student she has been involved in politics. She served as first lady; and then as a Senator. She never represented Illinois but rather New York. She has gained invaluable experience in the White House and is a successful Senator. I think the fact that Obama had no WHITE HOUSE PLATFORM TO REACH TO THIS POINT IS A TESTIMONY to his Wisdom, Skill and Determination. You cannot be "inexperienced" and Have OBAMA's Credentials.

CS4455, I think you completely missed the point of this article. Perhaps you need to go back and re-read the message he is trying to present to you. Moreover, maybe you just need to go back to school so that you too can one day understand him.