That Said: U.S. foreign policy is a big ship, one that doesn't make hard turns with screws pulling on hard rudder. Thus, the mid-East reaction to Bush's speech didn't deviate from the old template:

President Bush's call for greater democracy in the Middle East is drawing a cautious response from commentators in the region, who say the United States must first show it is honestly moving to resolve regional conflicts.

Perhaps they're referring to the Israel/Palestine question, hmm? That will always be the fallback of statists and stasists in the region -- "Fix the Palestinian situation first!" I would be sympathetic if so many in the region weren't working to bail water back into the leaky lifeboat of a "peace" process.