From al.com -

Huntsville woman's YouTube debate question spurs threats, insults
Friday, November 30, 2007
MARY ORNDORFF
News Washington correspondent

WASHINGTON - Yasmin Elhady of Huntsville initially felt lucky to be one of the few chosen to ask a question during Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate, carried live on CNN.

But within minutes, the online discussion at YouTube.com and CNN.com turned cruel, upsetting the young law student and causing her to second-guess her participation.

Read the full story....

Her question -

"What would you do as president to repair the image of America in the eyes of the Muslim world?"

I liked Duncan Hunter's reply the best - he doesn't ever apologize for the United States.

But it was Rep. Duncan Hunter's answer that Elhady most disagreed with. After noting the foreign and military aid given to countries that are "critics of America," Hunter said, "I will never apologize for the United States of America."

Elhady said she doesn't think the U.S. owes anyone an apology either. "It was a question about the goodwill that America has unfortunately lost in a lot of countries. We just need to be aware of what's going on," she said.

Muslim teenagers who used to admire American culture now reject it, and people who once criticized the actions of the American government without begrudging the American people are no longer making the distinction, she said.

"The intention of my question was that America is now seen as a, quote, imperialist invader, unquote, which is a scary picture," Elhady said. "We have to change that image. We have to combat that image."

Reading the whole article, I do understand where this young lady is coming from but I don't think she grasps the whole concept herself. She is one of those young wide-eyed utopia dreamers. There's nothing wrong with that but she certainly needs to open her eyes a little wider when it comes to America's image, and how exactly it got to be so negative with some people.

Elhady, who recently finished a year of study at the American University in Cairo, was encouraged, by the young girls she mentored in Huntsville, to submit a question via YouTube for the debate, and was one of 5,000 considered by CNN. As someone of North African descent and a frequent traveler to the region, Elhady said her question about America's deteriorating image was from personal observation and discussions with Muslims about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last year she was named one of Glamour magazine's Top 10 College Women for her activism, and she was president of her class at Grissom.

She studied behavioral biology and Middle Eastern studies at Emory University and had an internship at the Carter Center in Atlanta, founded by former President Carter and dedicated to human rights.

"I've lived all my life in America," she said. "I'm an American girl."

Comments?