I certainly agree with Mickey about what Ferraro really meant -- but Andrew Sullivan's notion that Pakistanis will be deeply affected in some way by seeing a US President with a dark skin and a sort of African name, a notion shared by many, is nonsense. President Obama will be just another American infidel.

Of course, Pakistan's leaders will be cautious at first with a new President, as they would with any new President, to see whether he will change policies, but if Obama does what he says now he will do -- namely, punch up the Afgan-Pakistan conflict, not dial it down -- they will not be pleased.

Generally, Pakistanis -- leaders and folks alike -- will be pleased only if and when the US leaves them alone, stops pressuring them to crack down on al Qaeda and jihadists, and departs Afganistan again, provided it still keeps money and other forms of support flowing.

It's going to be an eye opener for many like Sullivan to discover that our problems in the world do not hinge on George W. Bush.