There's an interesting parlor game going on trying to figure out which country Obama will visit to deliver on his campaign promise to speak before "a major Islamic forum" in the first 100 days of his administration.
Yesterday, the NYT's Helen Cooper speculated that Obama would do it in Cairo. Today, Politico's Ben Smith reports the thoughts of an Obama donor, who believes it'll be Jakarta:
The Obama donor, Los Angeles real estate executive Ted Leary, recalled that Obama spoke of his plan to donors at a February 20, 2007 breakfast fundraiser at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, soon after announcing his run for president.
"Obama told the 20 or so of us at breakfast that 'his first trip as President would be to Indonesia - the world's most populous Muslim country,'" Leary recalled.
"He then said when he got off [Air Force One], he would say 'xxxxxxxx' - which we, of course, didn't understand," Leary emailed. "He said that it was Indonesian (which he speaks) for, 'I am back, dudes.'"
As Leary notes, there's a logic to an Indonesia trip: It's giant, Muslim, democratic -- and a place Obama lived as a child.
I think that logic is pretty impeccable, but Cooper says Jakarta would be "too easy." If you're looking for degree of difficulty, there's always Islamabad, although I can't imagine the Secret Service (to say nothing of India) would be too thrilled about that one.
--Jason Zengerle