Iraqis are mystified by Barack Obama. As he kicked off his tour of Europe and the Middle East—including a stop in Baghdad—this week, both leaders and ordinary people here were trying to size up the Democratic candidate. For many, opinions are distorted by decades of misinformation and years of post-war cynicism about American motives in general. If you ask unemployed, 34-year-old Uday Ahmed whether he views Obama as a Muslim, because his father was Muslim, or as a Christian, which is the candidate's religion, he answers: "I think he is Jewish." It's an old conspiracy complex common in the Middle East, that Jews run American policy. But Ahmed didn't seem to mind. "If he is going to save my country from the chaos, I think I will like him. It is so important to have a good person, whether he is a Muslim, a Christian, or Jewish."

    Iraqis--even those who like and work with Americans--generally see the American invasion as a manifestation of U.S. interests in controlling the region and its oil wealth rather than anything done for their well-being. Most we talked to thought Obama would follow that path. Maybe, with all the power outages, they haven't had a chance to be touched by the candidate's telegenic charisma and set aside their cynicism. Here are some samples from Iraqis when we asked about their views of their incoming guest as the potential U.S. leader, his religion and what he'll do for Iraq:

    --"What is interesting is that a man who is not white is trying to be president. This is interesting because it is so unique," says Haider al-Mousawi, a history professor in the city of the holy city of Najaf. "His second name, Hussein, is Arabic but that will make no difference because his father refused his religion and his name to get what he wanted. This is the height of pragmatism and is standard in the United States. The person's interests are above all other things." He continues: "Anyway, whether Obama or [Sen. John] McCain wins, the president is just the figure who works on strategies run by the institutions that run America. The president is like a middleman."

    -- "He is just like other American politicians looking for their own interests," said Amira Hassan, a 56-year-old grade school teacher. "All the candidates are alike and will work for their own country and personal interests, not do good things for Iraq and its people."

    -- "I know Obama is Muslim and I am afraid he will not win the elections because of that. I hope he can help change the bad image of Islam among the west and the whole world," says engineer Ahmed al-Hilli. "Muslims and all Arabs will react to him seriously and positively. . . Obama will do better for Iraq than his predecessors because we have something in common, which is religion."

    -- "Obama will win the next elections because the American people want change and want to see the difference between Republican and Democratic policy," says 30-year-old Hussain Alwan. "I see Obama agreeing with Iraqi leaders on a timetable for a (troop) withdrawal and this is what the Iraqi people need at this time."

    -- "Obama is right for president of the United States because now we want U.S. policy in the region to change and he will be open for negotiations with Iran and Syria, he prefers to use negotiations rather than force," says 24-year-old bank employee Basma Ibrahim.

    Obama is expected to meet the Iraqi Prime Minister as well as huddle with top American officials in the Green Zone during his stopover in the Iraqi capital. Some of the Iraqis we chatted with spending Friday with their families in a park had other ideas for his itinerary.

    "I think he should see the militias and put an end to the militias because they still are in the streets," says a 50-year-old former employee in Iraq's security services who asked us to call him by his familiar name, Abu Ali. A clerk in the transportation ministry, 35-year-old Mohammed Fadel al-Rubai, hoped Obama would observe the city's decrepit state. "I need for Obama to see the economic situation and the [poor] services, like the electricity." Abu Ali also wants him to know that Iraqi security forces are up to their jobs now, so U.S. forces can go home.

But Iraqi leaders are trying to discern just how Obama might handle the timing and manner of any withdrawal. Earlier this month as we pressed them for their views of the possible next president, a senior political adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki turned the tables. A genteel man, the adviser was escorting us out his office door when he asked what we thought Obama would do with Iraq. The question, politely asked, seemed to be whether Obama would just pull America out and abandon Iraq to its problems. He seemed reassured when we told him that the candidate's stated policy was a lot more nuanced than that.  

    With reporting from Hussam Ali, Yassar Ghani, Salih Mehdi and Hassan al-Jarrah.