After just a week in office, President Obama is already reaching a friendly hand out to our Muslim neighbors. Yesterday he met with a reporter from Al Arabiya, an Arabic news channel based in Dubois, saying, “My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy.”

Sure its a pretty simple statement, but its honest in its simplicity. This is the message the world needs to hear from America. Lately we’ve been hiding in this world, hoping that change will go away, building walls instead of bridges. President Obama stated in his inaugural address that we would be tearing those walls down soon. Well, he meant it.

He also said, “It may take a long time to do, but we’re going to do it now” regarding peace between Palestine and Israel. Finally, someone who is willing to look that issue in the face and do the most unexpected thing of all; start fixing it.  (You do know why this conflict started, don’t you?)

Plainly put, President Obama is off to an excellent start if I may say so. His campagin got me interested in politics again after 16 years of apathy. I even wore our nations colors on Inauguration day, proudly, for the first time in eight years. Well done, Mr. President, well done. I look forward to being excited for the next four years.

Read the whole story on Obama’s first interview with Al Arabiya at the White House blog. Subscribe to their feed while you’re there!