With Super Tuesday leaving no clear Democratic nominee, Arab Americans are yet to be sold on either candidate.  Arab American views towards Barack Obama, in particular, are a mixed bag.  While support for him among chattering classes in the Arab world runs high, according to ABC News, Arab American writers are often ambivalent.

They have reservations despite his call for change — a slogan many agree with — and his past association with Chicago-based Arab groups.  Even the circulated picture of him seated next to Edward Said has not won him wide support. 

Arab-American bloggers, those who keep the online journals increasingly read by others for news and entertainment, have debated Obama.  Some have taken strong positions for or against. Others engage him, criticize him, and offer support with reservations.

Many of the bloggers seem very skeptical of his rhetoric about change.  Maytha of KABOBfest wrote an open letter to Obama.  She admitted she wanted to believe in him, but could not.  She wrote, “my doubts lie in the impasse where your words and actions are separated. In the rhetoric of change and hope lay the recycled actions of condemning Arabs and selling America’s freedom, security and livelihood to the state of Israel.”

Not all of the doubtful bloggers named his support for Israel.  Last August, “So Bored with the USA” compared Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton.  They, he wrote, are not “at all against the belligerent, bossy and inevitably murderous sort of foreign policy that has defined the U.S. from the beginning. He’s just against the Bush brand of it.”  This blogger was reacting to Obama’s willingness to attack “high-value terrorist targets” in Pakistan.

Lebanese professor of politics, As’ad AbuKhalil, of the blog Angry Arab, offered criticism of Arab news coverage of Obama.  He wrote, “Al-Jazeera is covering Obama as if he is the political equivalent of Muhammad Ali.”

AbuKhalil also mocked the Islamophobia surrounding Obama, including e-mail campaigns insinuating he is a Muslim or attended religious schools.  He joked that “the Clinton attack machine will now claim that Sen. Obama has pledged to ask Mahmoud Ahmadinajad to be his running mate if he wins the nomination.”

He compared the hysteria about Obama’s religious background to Nazi persecution of Jews.  “This discussion of whether Obama was ever a Muslim is not different from Nazi discussion of the Jewish heritage of certain individuals.”

Iraqi blogger Raed in the Middle blasted the progressive grassroots organization MoveOn.org for endorsing Obama. “We have a proverb in Arabic,” he wrote. “After a difficult labor, the mountain gave birth to a mouse.” He is arguing that after all of MoveOn’s difficult grassroots labor to give citizens a voice, they are backing a candidate put up by special interests and a political machine. 

Raed sees little difference between the parties.  He argues they “have the same interventionist foreign policy, and different versions of a horrible domestic policy.” 

A Lebanese journalist wrote in a post on the blog From Beirut to the Beltway, that Obama was too naïve to lead foreign policy. This was in response to Obama’s call for dialogue in foreign policy, the idea of “talking to those we don’t like.”

While “Obama’s Super Tuesday speech could have been inspiring,” the same post read, “the speech reeked of the same ’empty slogans’ Obama complains his competitors inflict on people.”

Other bloggers, such as Sudanese Thinker, considers Obama as good, but not quite good enough.  ST painted a picture of his “ideal candidate.”  He or she “would be the best of a McCain-Obama combination.”  Unfortunately, he lamented, “that imaginary candidate doesn’t exist.”  ST opposed Obama’s plan for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, a move he thinks would have “grave consequences” for Iraq.

Still, Obama has supporters in the Arab blogosphere.  The Egyptian blogger on Rantings of a Sandmonkey endorsed McCain and Obama in a split decision.  He backed Obama “because I find him fascinating.”  He was pleasantly surprised by Obama’s performance against Hillary Clinton despite the obstacles he faces. Obama, according to Sandmonkey, “is changing the rules of the game, and it’s making me not want this to end for him. I want to see what’s gonna happen next.”

Some bloggers support Obama because they believe in his message.  Laila Lalami, the author who writes the blog Moorish Girl, noted that this is one time supporting a candidate does not mean “picking the lesser evil among the politicians running for office.”  She wrote she was “genuinely excited about” Obama because he opposed the Iraq war back in 2002.  She feels that shows he has sound judgment.

While the Arab blogosphere does not necessarily reflect the range of opinions in the Arab American community, what they write is important for gauging some of the debates within the community.  As the fight for the Democratic nomination gets closer, Arab American bloggers will have more to say.

Will Youmans blogs at www.kabobfest.com.