President Obama's speech Thursday at Cairo University was one of the riskiest political moments of his young presidency because he bluntly addressed the emotional and historical baggage that has contributed to religious fanaticism and political division in the region. 'There is so much fear, so much mistrust,' Obama told his Egyptian audience -- and his TV audience across the Muslim world. 'But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward.' The president's 55-minute speech was the diplomatic equivalent of walking through a minefield. By choosing to address an audience in Egypt on a trip to the Middle East that does not include a stop in Israel, Obama raised the political stakes and the diplomatic risks. 'This speech isn't going to reverse anything,' said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, 'but I think it can lay the foundation' for better relations with the Muslim world. Opening a dialogue with critics is one thing. But balancing American policy priorities and Middle Eastern realities may be much more difficult. Among the minefield issues Obama addressed were: -- Reaching out to the fabled yet fictional Muslim 'Street' while not pandering to the Street's reflexive anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism. To do so, he vowed in the Cairo address to 'fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear,' while also denouncing 'shameful stereotypes' of Jews and Israel, repeating that there is an 'unbreakable' bond between Israel and the U.S. and firmly telling his audience that they must accept Israel's right to exist. -- Acknowledging mistakes that American presidents of both parties have made in Middle East policy without creating a political backlash in the U.S. by seeming to 'blame America first' or criticizing his own country. Obama walked a fine line here, noting that Iraq was 'a war of choice' and promising to remove combat troops by 2012, end torture and close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But he also underlined several times the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and explained his nation's suspicion of violent religious extremism. -- Touting America's religious tolerance and diversity of faiths, despite visiting some countries that restrict practice of non-Muslim religions. Obama was direct on this matter, telling Egyptians to respect the rights of Coptic Christians, telling Jews and Muslims in Israel to live in mutual respect in two states and telling Westerners that they should respect the religious traditions of Muslims. 'The richness of religious diversity must be upheld,' he said. -- Speaking out for free speech in the autocracies he's visiting (including Egypt and Saudi Arabia) without angering or insulting his hosts -- at least not too much. Remember: President George W. Bush, in a widely forgotten but important speech in Egypt last year, mentioned the jailing of Egyptian dissidents by the Mubarak administration. Obama didn't go that far, but he did talk about the concepts of democracy and freedom of speech. Danielle Pletka, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, criticized the symbolism of Obama selecting Cairo for his speech -- 'home to an aging autocrat who embodies the antithesis of hope and change.' -- Nudging nations toward free and fair elections where there is little history of free ballots -- even if the U.S. might not like the results of those elections. Think back to the Palestinian elections and the Hamas victory in Gaza. He said he welcomed 'all elected and peaceful governments' and said that governments must rule with 'a spirit of tolerance and compromise.' Obama walked the fine line, but artfully explained how democratically elected governments do not equal democracies. Again, witness Hamas and the Palestinian elections. -- Supporting the aspirations for Palestinian statehood without bashing Israel or fomenting anti-Semitism in the Muslim world. Obama dealt with this directly and threw down the diplomatic gauntlet both to Israeli and Palestinian leaders. He said that it was 'deeply wrong' for Muslims to call for the destruction of Israel and death to Jews, whom, he said, have 'a tragic history that cannot be denied.' But he firmly continued that Palestinians deserve 'dignity, opportunity and a state of their own.' -- Avoiding a diplomatic breach with Israel despite intentionally avoiding a visit to America's closest Middle Eastern ally on his trip to the region. Obama may be skipping Israel but he added a visit to the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald, Germany, on Friday. The presidential visit to a notorious slave labor and extermination camp underlines what Obama called the 'cultural and historical ties' between Israel and the U.S. Still, the President's criticism of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory created an angry backlash among some Israeli allies. 'I just don't think the Israelis deserve to be put in the same (rhetorical) playpen as terrorists,' said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. -- Supporting economic development in Muslim nations of the Middle East, including expanded free-trade agreements with the U.S., while risking the wrath of American labor unions. Obama sidestepped the thorny political issues involved in trade liberalization, but he directly addressed the fears engendered by globalization and noted that economic growth was a way to help everyone. -- Advocating for women's rights in a part of the world where the rulers have very different views about the role of women in society. When Obama landed in Saudi Arabia, the royal delegation greeting him was all male. The only women in the entourage were American diplomats and reporters. In his Egyptian speech, he decided to emphasize the positive: women who had led Egypt, Bangladesh and Pakistan. He did not discuss the refusal of many Middle Eastern nations to allow women to vote, hold office, drive or, in some cases, even to attend some schools. Rather than deal with these issues directly, the President declared, 'Our daughters can contribute as much to society as our sons.' -- Building a coalition with Muslim nations to block Iranian nuclear development and support for terrorism without rekindling talk of American hostility to Islam. Obama explained the risks of nuclear proliferation in Iran without criticizing Iran. He spoke of America's involvement in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government a half-century ago. But he tried to quickly pivot from the suspicions of the past to the tense geopolitical realities of the present. That disappointed some pro-Israel leaders in the U.S. Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of The Israel Project, said Obama 'did not convey a sense of urgency on stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons.' 'I am very concerned about President Obama's comments that Iran has a right to nuclear materials for energy, given the dangerous fact that some of those materials could get into the hands of terrorists including Iran's proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad,' she added. Facing so many politically sensitive subjects, the President wanted to emphasize the potential for positive breakthroughs. White House speechwriter Ben Rhodes said Obama 'feels it's important to speak very openly and candidly about the very full range of issues that have caused some tensions between the United States and the Muslim world.' But Rhodes says that for long-term success, Obama must 'also present a great deal of opportunity for partnership in the future.' 