Bush's Newest Best Buddy

[bd]

Remember this guy...? The one that scared you all so badly? He your President's newest best friend.

Ellison taking on role in U.S. image building
His story as the first Muslim in Congress is being promoted abroad by the State Department.

By Kevin Diaz, McClatchy News Service


WASHINGTON - Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, had little good to say about President Bush's foreign policy when he ran for office last year.
Now, two months in office, the Minnesota Democrat plans to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top State Department officials to talk about showcasing his story as part of their public diplomacy efforts in the Muslim world.

"Hey, my country first. We can work out our political differences later," said Ellison, an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. "I've said I'm willing to do whatever I can to make some friends for America."

Adding to the cachet he's built since taking his oath of office on Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an, Ellison has been profiled three times by the State Department's overseas press bureau.

On Monday he did a Voice of America interview from his office, where an American flag was placed conspicuously behind his desk for the cameras.

He's scheduled to follow up on Thursday in a teleconference with Karen Hughes, the State Department's undersecretary for public diplomacy. The White House has asked that the teleconference promote American values and confront ideological support for terrorism around the world.

'Most famous freshman'

Muslim commentators and administration officials say that, whatever controversy Ellison has engendered at home, he can help the United States' image abroad, especially in the Arab world.

"It's a very positive development," said Voice of America's Faiz Rehman, a Pakistani native and senior political producer. "He is the most famous freshman congressman in the world."

Ellison's swearing-in in January turned him into one of the hottest journalistic commodities on Capitol Hill, particularly for the foreign press, which had to be ushered out of his office after he took his oath to make room for home-state news crews.

Now the State Department's public diplomacy arm is swinging into the act.

Ellison has been featured in a series of articles written for foreign dissemination by the Department's Bureau of International Information Programs. The most recent, published last month, highlighted the diversity of his constituents in Minnesota, ranging from Swedes and Norwegians to "the largest Somali immigrant community in America."

The article has been translated into Farsi and Arabic, according to State Department officials.

In his Voice of America interview, which is aimed at the Middle East and South Asia, Ellison quoted the Qur'anic verse 49:13: "Oh humanity, we created you from a single pair ..."

He said it's part of his message of global inclusiveness.

Although the Bush administration is promoting Ellison as an example of American religious tolerance, part of his international appeal comes from the controversy he's encountered at home.

Since Ellison became a candidate for Congress last year, his religion has been fodder for political opponents, including Minnesota Republicans who tried to tie him to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

When he decided to take his oath on the Qur'an, Virginia Republican Rep. Virgil Goode called it an illustration of the need for immigration changes, even though Ellison grew up in Detroit. A national talk show host asked him if he was working with "our enemies."

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations, compared Ellison's overseas appeal to that of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, who refused to serve in Vietnam.

"Muslims around the world know that America has a tradition of religious tolerance," he said. "They'd like to see us live up to that tradition."

Showcasing the positive

Ellison, for his part, plays up the positive in the American experience, noting that the nation's founders chose not to establish an official state religion.

"Religious tolerance has a much longer pedigree in America than some of the intolerance we've seen lately," he told Voice of America.

But he hasn't backed off from his criticism of the Bush administration's Iraq policy, saying he wants people around the world to know that "there are many Americans who want to relate to the rest of the world in terms of cooperation, not military domination."

His staffers say the State Department has shown no signs of squeamishness about publicizing his criticism of the war.

Rick Jauert, Ellison's communications director, said he warned one State Department writer that "we don't agree on much." That was fine, came the reply. "They said it's about democracy and dissent," he said.

©2007 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

Better get on board, let's see you guys show some love for this man. Be good Bush supporters.

bd

[LUVMYSIGP225]

I am too busy trying to get Jeb drafted for President '08.

[bd]

Originally Posted by LUVMYSIGP225

I am too busy trying to get Jeb drafted for President '08.

See about getting his last name changed and he might stand a chance.

bd

[jamestx10]

Originally Posted by bd

See about getting his last name changed and he might stand a chance.

No need to change the name. We just need to work on the ballots. Hanging chad anyone?

[LUVMYSIGP225]

Originally Posted by bd

See about getting his last name changed and he might stand a chance.

bd

I agree with you BD. His career is doomed thanks to his brother. Sad, but true.

[FrankRizzoXD40]

What is the point of this thread?

Should Bush be disrespecting this guy because he is a muslim?

Frank

[TxPete68]

Originally Posted by FrankRizzoXD40

What is the point of this thread?

Should Bush be disrespecting this guy because he is a muslim?

Frank

It's a bd thread Frank... and you expect there to be a point!!!

Pete

[FrankRizzoXD40]

Originally Posted by TxPete68

It's a bd thread Frank... and you expect there to be a point!!!

Pete

Not really....but he often asks others what the points of their threads are.

That seems to be the trend around here--bd has one set of standards for himself and another for everyone else.

Example:

Contradictory statement alert!!!!

in one thread....as a response to someone who didn't post references....

Originally Posted by bd

Back it up with references - that's what debate is.

In a different thread....as a response to someone who asked him for references to what he posted.....

Originally Posted by bd

Why don't you find them yourself so the practice will allow you to have more substantial posts in the future...?

So there we have it, folks. In one thread, bd is telling people to post sources to back up what they are saying. In another thread, someone asked HIM to post sources and he told them to "go find them yourself." Once AGAIN, bd's hypocrisy and double-standards have been exposed!

So which is it? Why is it that everyone else has to back up their references, but then when someone asks YOU to do it, you tell them to "go find them yourself"

Typical, "do as I say, but not as I do" liberal thinking.

Frank

[jdavionic]

Originally Posted by bd

He your President's newest best friend.

bd

Try using verbs, bd. You will find that they really liven up your sentences. What a dolt!

[bd]

Originally Posted by TxPete68

It's a bd thread Frank... and you expect there to be a point!!!

Pete

I do expect the point to be a little too obvious for your abilities.

bd