Thomas Friedman's "This Is Just the Start": Bringing New Meaning to the Word "Sycophancy"

A condensed version of the following blog entry, which was submitted as an online comment in response to Thomas Friedman's op-ed, "This Is Just the Start", was censored by The New York Times:

In an op-ed in today's New York Times entitled "This Is Just the Start" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/opinion/02friedman.html?hp), Thomas Friedman places the "Obama Factor" at the top of his list of “not-so-obvious forces” that fed the mass revolt in the Muslim Middle East. He says that he is convinced that "more than a few" young Arabs compared Obama with themselves:

"Hmmm, let’s see. He’s young. I’m young. He’s dark-skinned. I’m dark-skinned. His middle name is Hussein. My name is Hussein."

Great thinking, Tom. It would appear, however, that there are more than a few comparisons that Mr. Friedman omitted:

"Hmmm, let's see. He's a millionaire. I'm not. He owns a three-story mansion on a plot which includes land purchased from Tony Rezko. I don't. He writes books about himself. I don't. He bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. I didn't. He greeted Qaddafi of Libya with a big smile and a warm handshake. I didn't. He refused to support the dissidents when they took to the streets of Tehran in 2009. I have more courage than he does. He was among the last leaders in the world to call for the ouster of Qaddafi. On which side of the street is he anyway?"

Yes, Tom, Obama has granted you private audiences, but get real.