Obama Speech (part 1): Indonesia is a part of me.

Declaring that "Indonesia is a part of me," President Obama today offered personal reflections of the place that "shaped his childhood" and the place that he, as president, hopes will now help shape the Muslim world with their example of democracy, development and pluralism. Drawing up images of his youth spent living in Jakarta -- from "flying kites, running along paddy fields, catching dragonflies and buying satay and baso from street vendors" -- the President stuck a nostalgic tone, remembering the spirit of the people he said helped him learn to love the country. "As a young boy, I was coming to a different world. But the people of Indonesia quickly made me feel at home," Obama said from the University of Indonesia this morning, "The old men and women who welcomed us with smiles; the children who made a foreigner feel like a neighbor; and the teachers who helped me learn about the wider world: The president moved to Jakarta in 1967 then only 6 years-old from Hawaii when his mother married an Indonesian man name Lolo Soetoro. He spent for years in Jakarta living in a small house with a mango tree out front, before ultimately moving back to Hawaii. "So much has changed in the four decades since I boarded a plane to move back to Hawaii. If you asked me -- or any of my schoolmates who knew me back then -- I don't think any of us could have anticipated that I would one day come back to Jakarta as President of the United States." As president, Mr. Obama came today to ...

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