Americans have never fully appreciated what a radical thing we did—in the eyes of the rest of the world—in electing an African-American with the middle name Hussein as president. I’m convinced that listening to Obama’s 2009 Cairo speech—not the words, but the man—were more than a few young Arabs who were saying to 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. His grandfather is a Muslim. My grandfather is a Muslim. He is president of the United States. And I’m an unemployed young Arab with no vote and no voice in my future.” I’d put that in my mix of forces fueling these revolts.

Thomas L. Friedman, “This Is Just the Start”