One speech cannot turn the tide.  Maybe if you are Dick Cheney, that is true.

I know there are many -- Muslim and non-Muslim -- who question whether we can forge this new beginning.  Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress.  Some suggest that it isn't worth the effort -- that we are fated to disagree, and civilizations are doomed to clash. Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur.  There's so much fear, so much mistrust that has built up over the years.  But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward.  And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith, in every country -- you, more than anyone, have the ability to reimagine the world, to remake this world.

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort -- a sustained effort -- to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

It's easier to start wars than to end them.  It's easier to blame others than to look inward.  It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share.  But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path.  There's one rule that lies at the heart of every religion -- that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.  (Applause.)  This truth transcends nations and peoples -- a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew.  It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world.  It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today.

We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.

The Holy Koran tells us:  "O mankind!  We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us:  "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us:  "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."  (Applause.)

The people of the world can live together in peace.  We know that is God's vision.  Now that must be our work here on Earth.

Thank you.  And may God's peace be upon you.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.

I was struck as never before how Obama uses the right words and the right thoughts to lead the listener to the inevitable truths and conclusions, and illuminates the ideas which shape his words. 

He spoke today with authority.  Not the authority of the Drill Instructor, not the Prison Guard.  Obama spoke with the authority of the preacher, the schoolteacher, the nobleman.

When Ronald Reagan used to speak, my father said that Reagan spoke in a tone one uses "with a depressed friend at a bar, or one uses before a game, or after a loss."  "A tone that is both real yet hopeful.  Inspirational.  Soaring, yet mild-mannered.  And above all--wise."

This is the tone that is recognized in all ages, all cultures, and all countries.

Obama exuded this premise today. 

When dealing with differences that are regional, diverse, controversial, vitriolic--what can a speaker do to disarm? 

Be honest.  Speak from the heart.  Use words and language of those on the other side.  Recognize truths from both sides.  Cede points, not ground.

Look: Cairo was an important speech.  There was no denying this, though many tried to lower expectations at the last few hours before it started. 

This was a monumental speech, and was equalled in its merit and content only by its monumental significance of opportunity.

News and views afterwards immediately may say a modest success or a dismal failure.  Many are skeptical.  Some are disappointed.  But I listened and watched the President entirely.  I sat alone in my kitchen, and devoted an hour or so to his thoughts ideas and words.  I heard something else.

I recognized something deeply rooted in what is best about my country, and about man.  I heard what is achieveable about breaking down the most vigorous of barriers.  I saw what is best about forgiveness and understanding.  I saw a universal effort towards a new world.  I felt though he quoted the quran, he evoked the sermon on the mount; the beatitudes.

There was a message here. 

Despite what the papers say, I know what I heard.   I know how hopeful I was after he spoke that indeed the post 9/11 world, both in America and in the Muslim world, can be reconciled with such a humble and noble effort.  I wonder if others were similarly struck at how a weight has been lifted, and words have given flight to the winds of change. 

I begin to see it.