Al-Qaida's No. 2 released the first message attacking the new President-elect, and he went straight for the race issue:

In an audio message which appeared on militant Web sites Wednesday, al-Zawahri said that Obama is "the direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X. He called Obama a "house negro."

He added that Obama's plan to shift troops to Afghanistan is doomed to failure, because Afghans will resist.
The audio plays over still pictures of al-Zawahri, Malcolm X praying, and Obama with Jewish leaders at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

The tape also criticizes Obama for his position on Israel, stating that this proves his "stance of hostility to Islam and Muslims".

Al-Zawahri also urged Muslims to continue attacks against "criminal America".

A little odd, to say the least. Who exactly is al-Zawahri trying to reach with this message? Al-Qaeda is no stranger to meddling in domestic political affairs, and some have suggested he's in part trying to drive a wedge in the black community.

I don't buy that. This sounds like a guy going to extremes to portray Obama as "more of the same," to borrow some campaign jargon. Al-Qaeda has in general tried to portray itself as in opposition to U.S. policy, rather than the nation itself, and here comes a new President promising to change those policies. Well, maybe some of the recruitment pool is intrigued and wonders if it wouldn't hurt to wait and see if policy really does change before rushing off to fight and die in opposition. Maybe there's an added affinity because of his race and what that represents, not only to Americans, but to the world. If you're a No. 2 Al-Qaeda leader, you're worried. Because once you lose momentum, it's hard to get a global terror network going again. So you have to re-vilify the U.S. at every opportunity, convince your troops—not the hardcore, but maybe the young boys drawn but not yet committed to this ideology—that nothing is really going to change.

It's just a theory. But I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a juiced-up PR campaign from Al-Qaeda and eventually hear them come right out and say that Obama is no different from Bush. If you want to vilify someone these days, after all, that's the way to go.