Hotline After Dark -- We're All Ears

"World News," "Evening News" and "Nightly News" each led with Pres. Obama's Cairo speech.

The Cairo speech continued to be the talk of the TV.

ABC's Tapper: "The tenor and the tone of what the president is saying is markedly different from what he said as a candidate, but it is, of course, a different day" ("World News," 6/4).

CBS' Reid: "At 55 minutes, the speech was the president's longest yet, but amid all those words there was not a single specific new policy" ("Evening News," 6/4).

NBC's Todd: "The president used this speech to talk to three or four different audiences, including explaining Islam to Americans, explaining America to Muslims and trying to jumpstart a conversation between Israelis and the Arab world" ("Nightly News," 6/4).

CNN's Amanpour: "The results that are coming in terms of reaction from the Muslim world are showing a quite uniform praise for this speech. Many people are saying this is a completely different way than we've ever been addressed by the president of the United States" ("Situation Room," 6/4).

More after the jump, including an interview with Sec/State Hillary Clinton.

(KATHERINE LEHR)

GOP strategist Alex Castellanos: "This was the kind of speech that presidents win Nobel Peace Prizes for, because they don't give those out for results and accomplishment. They tend to give them out for intent and effort."

More Castellanos: "This was much more of a Carter-like speech. ... There are presidents and leaders who think that history is the study, the development of debate of ideas. ... And then there are presidents who think that history's about the exercising of power. Today, we saw a man who said, this is about ideas. ... That kind of strength that we saw from Reagan and JFK was missing today. It's, why can't we all get along?" ("Situation Room," 6/4).

Ex-U.S. Amb. to Israel Martin Indyk: "It wasn't an apologetic speech. He stood his ground, but he did it with such respect and understanding of their concerns, and addressing their concerns, that I think he got them to listen, which was very important. He essentially ... rebranded America's values and interests to the Arab and Muslim world, and I think that that made it much more possible to sell what we're really about. And that can help a lot in terms of dealing with the problems that we see emanating from that part of the world" ("Ed Show," MSNBC, 6/4).

Ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich: "You have a man who's in considerable conflict with himself. On the one hand, he's trying to reach out to the Muslim world and trying to open up a new dialogue. On the other hand, he just can't help himself in blaming America first. ... I found myself ... with very mixed feelings, because in some places, it's a very powerful, very compelling speech. In other places, I thought it was destructive and, in fact, harmful to our interests" ("Hannity," FNC, 6/4).

CA State Univ. prof. As'ad AbuKhalil: "There are serious contradictions in the speech itself. On the one hand, he gave some lofty remarks about democracy and human rights. ... But in the same speech, he also praised the Saudi king, the head of a kingdom which still practices rituals of public beheadings in the public square and which also still endorses the same fanatical ideology that inspires al-Qaeda terrorists around the world" ("NewsHour," PBS, 6/4).

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN): "Never underestimate the power of an idea eloquently presented by a compelling leader. ... I think that this enhanced our strength and security immeasurably" ("Ed Show," MSNBC, 6/4).

Queen Noor: "It provided extraordinary context -- historical, social, cultural, spiritual -- for so many issues of concern, not only to the Arab and the Muslim world, but also to the larger world, I think. His presence coming to the Arab world and speaking to an Arab audience was extremely important in terms of making a connection. And the comprehensive nature of his remarks and the vast array of subjects that he discussed, with a great deal, I think, of balance and wisdom, was very, very valuable. ... I think my husband would have delighted in the speech" ("LKL," CNN, 6/4).

FNC's Hannity: "The word 'terror' didn't come up. Terrorism didn't come up. 'Terrorist' didn't come up. Manmade disaster didn't come up. You would think that that those would be vital terms to use in a speech like this" ("Hannity," 6/4).

George Mason Univ.'s Sumaiya Hamdani: "I was impressed with the speech for a lot of reasons. I think, first and foremost, the quality of the speech was one that was very different from the previous administration and, I think, for most U.S. administrations. Obama was speaking to an audience, as opposed to at an audience. ... He engaged the audience in terms that resonated with them" ("NewsHour," PBS, 6/4).

Ex-WH adviser David Gergen: "It was the most powerful and the most persuasive speech any American president has ever made to the Muslim populations around the world. ... And that's in part because of who he is, but it's also in part because of the thoughtfulness of the speech. ... He speaks honestly and like an adult. ... Of course, it's going to have to be followed up by hard work, but I think he's begun to change the landscape, the emotional landscape, in which the work takes place" ("AC 360," CNN, 6/4).

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer: "On policy, the damage was small because the speech was so abstract, vapid, and self-absorbed that it didn't touch a lot of policy, except on Iran, where he was exceedingly weak. ... The real damage is philosophical. There was, once again, over and over again apologies and moral equivalence" ("Special Report," FNC, 6/4).

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), on Obama mentioning him in his speech: "I'm glad that I was able to in some way contribute to the president's ability to reach out and show a point of commonalty with the audience that he was talking to. ... I did swear in on the Koran, and ... it was sort of a big deal at the time, but now it's not that big of a deal at all. And here I am, having served, having won my reelection, and the sky didn't fall" ("Ed Show," MSNBC, 6/4).

IT TAKES TWO

And Clinton went "On the Record" from Cairo last night.

Clinton, asked why she also came to Cairo: "Because this is a very important part of our new diplomacy, our outreach, our policy of engagement and partnership. This is something the president promised to do early on in his term. And it is my second trip to Egypt since I've been secretary of state."

More Clinton: "And it is really critical that we make clear, as the president did in this magnificent speech he gave, that we want to work with people all over the world, regardless of religion. ... And I thought that it was important that we all be here to send a strong signal that America is doing what the president said we would do in his inaugural address, you know, he'll stretch out his hand, and hopefully, people will unclench their fists."

FNC's Van Susteren: "The president said that the point of the speech was sort of to reboot America's relationship with the Muslim world. But it seemed to me that all roads lead back to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ... If that could be resolved, it would certainly go far towards solving lot of the other problems in the area. Am I right?"

Clinton: "I think, as the president pointed out in his speech, that is certainly a very important part of our relationships with people all over, in particular Arab countries, majority Muslim countries. But extremism exists apart from that. ... There are other, you know, concerns that we have to be honest in addressing, and I think the president did an excellent job in setting those forth. ... This was a speech that I believe will be viewed historically as a very significant turning point" (FNC, 6/4).