You are there—sipping green tea with President Obama in this imaginary one-on-one . . . Sir, in your Cairo address to Islam you were the first Western potentate since Napoleon to embrace the Islamist narrative dividing humanity into warring religious camps: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc. That implicitly supports re-establishment of the caliphate—

MALIK KHAN Barack Obama’s Cairo speech, in terms of substance, was ground-breaking. An American president quoting from the Quran and reliving his own experience in Muslim Indonesia lectured moderates and hard liners alike in the region. His skillful drawing of attention toward Muslim contributions to science and civilization, and repeated references to Islamic tenets, exhibited a positive shift while addressing the Muslim world. His message was well-received and sounded genuine—as did the spontaneous applause from the audience, punctuated by the odd shout of “We love you.“

President Barack Obama rates as the finest presidential orator since Ronald Reagan. His body language invites. The pitch of his voice captivates. His expression warms. The Cairo speech was promoted as an event, and so it proved. Its intended audience included the Muslims of the world. Much of the wording sounded familiar. As Michael Crowley wrote for The New Republic: “Most of his main arguments have been made before—not just by Obama himself, but by his predecessor. ‘Today I’d like to speak directly to the people across the broader Middle East,‘ George W. Bush said at the United Nations on Sept. 16, 2006. Like Obama, Bush explained that the United States is not at war with Islam. Like Obama, Bush said that America respects the history and traditions of the Muslim world. Like Obama, Bush deplored the Sept. 11 attacks and vowed to fight the tiny minority of Islamic extremists. Bush also assured his audience that ‘freedom, by its nature, cannot be imposed. It must be chosen’; Obama said that ‘no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.‘ Bush lamented the ‘daily humiliation of occupation’ suffered by the Palestinians; Obama said the Palestinians ‘endure the daily humiliations . . . that come with occupation.‘ Bush assured Iran that he did not oppose their use of peaceful nuclear power; so did Obama.“ Crowley also noted that Obama enjoys more credibility with the intended audience than did Bush. We believe both presidents meant what they said and that both gave worthy addresses.