Obama's 'hope' message a mirage for hostile Pakistanis

Editor's note: Masud Alam is a former BBC journalist and 1996 Fellow of Alfred Friendly Press Fellowship. He is currently based in Islamabad and writes weekly columns for The News on Sunday and Dawn.com.

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- When Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election in 2008, people in Islamabad exchanged congratulatory text messages.

As he delivered his famous "yes we can" victory speech in Chicago, people in Islamabad eagerly watched the entire live telecast, cheering or exclaiming every sentence. Some ended up crying tears of joy.

Pakistan's melodramatic response to American politics was exclusive to that time. It was, and still is, an exception rather than the rule.