There are very important political calendars at play here for each of the leaders,

Karen understands that 'It's the policies, stupid,'

We fully acknowledge that public diplomacy is only part of the picture,

We, the United States, are not in any significant way present in the daily discourse, the debates, the discussions, the conversations that are going on in the Arab Muslim world about us,

The way that political leaders move when they are facing challenges is back to their base.

Leaders are not pale reflectors of major social conflicts; they play up some, play down others, ignore still others.