Netanyahu's teachable moment for the GOP
I hope the potential Republican candidates for President were paying attention on Friday when Prime Minister Netanyahu had his press availability with President Obama, and not just on Tuesday when he spoke to Congress. Netanyahu gave a classic course in how to take the President down in a debate. Hugh Hewitt explains. Netanyahu's take-down of the president should be on the TiVo of Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, Jon Huntsman (and, yes, Rick Perry if what I have been hearing is true). One of those men will be standing opposite the president in the debates of September and October of 2012, and Netanyahu showed exactly how to respond to the prolixities and pauses of the teleprompter-dependent president.If Netanyahu doesn't go back on his word.
First, let the president talk, and talk, and talk. (And talk.) His frequent rhetorical cul-de-sacs numb the minds of listeners and set up the opportunity for sharp contrasts between the definitive and the ambiguous, the purposeful and the feckless.
Second, look right at him when responding. This so unnerved President Obama that his anger and frustration was visible. Whether he brought the sense of superiority to the White House or whether it erupted there, the president does not care for people who challenge him directly, cannot seem to believe that anyone would have the temerity to do so. This is the sign of a deep insecurity, and Netanyahu used it.
Next, speak from specifics, using facts and especially history. Netanyahu used history to spank the president on Friday. A GOP nominee armed with specific references -- not just to Obama's many blunders but also to clear evidence of the American exceptionalism that Obama has clearly rejected -- will put the wordy academic on his heels.
Finally, express core truths bluntly -- especially the harshest ones, such as the nature of Hamas. The president has been shrinking from clarity for more than two years, whether it is clarity on Iran, on the butcher Assad and the nutter Chavez, and most recently on the key Palestinian problem -- that Hamas, like Hezbollah to the north, wants Israel destroyed.
Netanyahu showed a worldwide audience that purposefulness can be as polite as it is pointed, and that Obama has a glass jaw. A clenched glass jaw, but a glass jaw nonetheless.
Israel isn't going back to the 1967 borders. Hamas cannot be a partner in peace negotiations. And Israel is a friend and a valued ally, not a lap dog. The president would do well to figure out that our country prefers Netanyahu's approach to his. Even the president's own party does.
Am I the only one who worries about our Prime Minister's moments of weakness? Remember the 'settlement freeze'?
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:36 AM
5 Comments:
...If Netanyahu doesn't go back on his word...
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The word of "2 states"?
The word of "settlement blocks"?
Wake up!
His party has to hold his feet to the fire. He can't just make great speeches and get away with giving away the store.
In the meantime, everyone can have a rollicking good time seeing the man-child Hussein make a total, embarrassing a$$ of himself trying his darndest to toast the Queen. Hilarity ensues:
i do not believe that the freeze was weakness...i believe it was a trial balloon
had to see if the arabs would keep to their word about returning to the table...they didnt
it was also a trial balloon for obama...to see if he would realize that the arabs are as intransigent as the israelis say that they are
obama has learned nothing...but bibi will not be floating any more balloons
i do believe that he said...its my way, or the highway
im not sure why you can blame bibi for being a politician...your electoral system makes his position extremely precarious
tell me...what do you think would happen to a defense or foreign minister in america, if either spoke out of turn?
thats right...they would be joining millions of others at the unemployment office
but not in israel...in israel, both can say and do what they want, and the pm can do nothing about it....if he wants to hold his coalition together.
its an insane way of doing things
"Am I the only one who worries about our Prime Minister's moments of weakness?"
No, you are not. Bibi served his purpose in making his verbal defense of Israel. But he has a history of not walking the walk. If he did not have such a history, Israel would still control Hevron and there would not have been a building freeze. How many Jews have died because of this weakness?
Nevertheless, he did a great job defending Israel's position, shored up the U.S. Congress' support for Israel's position on "land for peace," and showed Obama that he is out of sync with the American people and the Congress, both sides of the aisle.
Read between the lines of Harry Reid's AIPAC speech. He was telling the President something. Don't mess with Israel. (Walt and Mearsheimer must be going absolutely crazy - the Jews are not only in control, they have taken over everyone's minds! LOL!)
And this goes beyond Israel. It says something about the American People's view of Obama's foreign policy.
Just remember, it can all be fleeting. One misstep. . .
Shy Guy is right - and so is Debbie Schlussel.
The only question is when Netanyahu will cave - not if.
After all, the man has a consistent track record.
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