President Obama sought “common ground” during his speech in Cairo this morning. But American responses to the speech are already divided.

The White House said Obama’s speech contained no new policy proposals on the Middle East. [Obama] said American ties with Israel are unbreakable, yet issued a firm, evenhanded call to the Jewish state and Palestinians alike to live up to their international obligations.

At the same time, he said the same principle must apply in reverse. “Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.”

In a gesture to the Islamic world,…

Is peace on the way in the Middle East? Here’s what today’s Associated Press story said:

After months of frantic diplomacy, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared before a conference of some 50 countries and international agencies that they were intent on achieving what has eluded their predecessors for decades: bringing peace to peoples with clashing dreams and conflicting claims to the Holy Land. They set themselves an ambitious deadline - December 2008, before President Bush’s term ends.

Note that the previous paragraph highlighted the decades of failed peace negotiations. You can read up on some of…