Biden squirms
This is from an interview by David Gregory on NBC's Meet the Press this past Sunday with America's gaffetastic Vice President Joseph Biden. This is the part where they discuss Israel. Watch how uncomfortable Biden gets when Gregory nails him on the fact that the US is only making specific demands from Israel and not from the 'Palestinians.'Let's go to the videotape and then I'll have more below.
Note how Gregory refers to unconditional demands. And note the 'unconditional demand' being made on the 'Palestinians.'
The unconditional demands we’re making on the Palestinians that they have to provide security for Israel. They have to stop this, this, this, this baiting of their populations. They have to stop incitement. We’ve made it clear to the, to the Arab states, they have to do something more than just talk about normalizing relation with Israel.The first part of that statement is too vague to even analyze. But what about the 'incitement' part? Has anyone ever heard President Obama or Secretary of State Clinton discuss that? Or is Biden winging it? I would argue that he's winging it.
Note also that Biden denies that there's 'moral equivalency' between Israel and the 'Palestinians' in the administration's view. It's a shame Gregory didn't follow up by asking him which claim the administration deems 'more moral.'
Judith Apter Klinghoffer makes a couple of good points about this interview (Hat Tip: NathanL), which is actually how I got to this interview in the first place.
Do remember Joe Biden went to Israel and personally vouched for Barack Obama’s commitment to the Jewish state. Obama personally followed him and 72% of the Jews believed them and voted for Obama. Since then Obama visited the Middle East twice carefully avoiding Israel. Gregory’s questions also explains the reasons Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, admits that Jews are concerned.In an earlier portion of the interview, Gregory asks Biden about a possible run for President in the future, and Biden is clearly interested in doing so. If Obama degrades Israel's security and a Republican candidate keeps harping on the fact that Biden was the one who reassured Jews on Obama's commitment to Israel, could that damage Biden's chances of getting the Jewish vote?
By the way, I believe Biden lied when he answered the first question: Obama is clearly trying to distance himself from Israel and he is likely doing so to enhance his status in the Muslim and Arab world.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:08 PM
6 Comments:
I don't think that Gregory will be invited to the WH after that "badgering".
hehe
The Administration is not being a neutral arbitrator. It is clearly on the side of the Arabs vis a vis Israel. Lieberman should have told Clinton that until the American approach changes, the Europeans and Mitchell will not be welcome in Jerusalem. They have to understand a sovereign state cannot endure that kind of treatment. And Israeli officials should stop coming to Washington to receive it. Jews do not need to participate in a "peace process" where they are called upon to surrender to the enemy's demands without even talking about the issues.
Nothing will change until US Jews stop supporting "the one". As long as he is so highly regarded among US Jews, why would Obama change one iota of his policy?
Once he clearly and completely looses support of US Jews, then we can expect dramatic changes in his policies. As this is not going to happen anytime soon, expect to see Obama/Clinton keep ratcheting up the pressure more and more.
Ending financial help to Israel is the next step. Expect to see this coming very soon.
The hostility of the Administration is now well established. There is nothing Israel can or should do to change their minds. Under no circumstances should Israel back on its red lines and indeed it should begin reversing good will concessions made to Abbas. There is no use hoping Jewish niceness will ever moderate Palestinian obduracy. If the Palestinians want peace, they know whom to talk to. Until then Israel should stop behaving as though it needs it more than the other side does.
"If Obama degrades Israel's security and a Republican candidate keeps harping on the fact that Biden was the one who reassured Jews on Obama's commitment to Israel, could that damage Biden's chances of getting the Jewish vote?"
Nope. There's darn near nothing, no outrage, no moral equivocation, no backstabbing of Israel that the Hussein Obama Administration could do that would significantly cut the traditional Pavlovian response of Jewish American voters pulling the lever for the Democrats.
Not that Jewish Americans are the only group so brainwashed into voting Democrat.
That 72% of Jewish voters voted for Hussein Obama & Co., rather than the very decent alternative of John McCain shows this starkly in the (IMO) worst case scenario.
Again, not that Jews are the only group of voters so uncritical, so uninformed and so lacking in critical thinking about candidates and the voters' and nation's interests. Winston Churchill once said that a five minute conversation with the average voter would sour anyone on democracy.
I don't think Churchill really meant it and I wouldn't go that far either, but the percentage of voters in any Western democracy (in which I include Israel) who are actually well informed about politics and important public issues and use dispassionate critical thinking are a distinct minority.
It is interesting (and instructive) to note that Obama does not want to be seen as meddling in Iran's internal affairs favoring one side over the other but with Israel, they are explicitly meddling in Israel's affairs by demanding conditions of Israel while demanding nothing of the Palestinians.
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