Just saw Obama speak at the AIPAC conference. An amazing speech. Deeply disappointing to me in some ways, but tremendously impressive as a projection of character, and in its late eloquence. He wanted to seem strong, that was his goal, to project toughness. He did a lot of that. Said he would do "everything" to stop Iran from getting nuke. Repeated that twice. "Everything." He also repeatedly condemned the Iraq war policy to less than enthusiastic applause. Said it had strengthened Iran and hurt Israel.
Interesting that the idea that our policy in the Middle East, including the Iraq war, is made and meant to support Israel is taken for granted, by Obama and other politicians.
His references to Palestinian freedom and self-determination were very circumscribed. Said they need a state, they must have a state, for Israel to be secure, and he would throw himself into that from the start of his administration. And at this there were wild whoops from the back of the crowd of 7000–the back is where the kids are, the new generation. The ones in the front only stood up when he called on stiffer boycott of Iran…
He spoke of Palestinian children's future, too, in vague terms. All a little too vague for me. And by the way, Hillary is coming out now, and the applause for her is more sustained and excited than it was for Obama. They love her, they don't really– haven't really warmed up to Barack yet…
But the best part of the speech was at the very end, the sudden invocation of Schwerner and Goodman, who were willing to die, Obama said, alongside a black man, Chaney, in Mississippi. "Willing to die." A beautiful statement. This man is an astonishing speaker. It came as a complete surprise, in the speech, and it was his last thought, that we must renew the bond between the black community and the Jewish community, to do great things. Mighty walls fell down, he said of the united opposition to segregation."Even the mightiest of walls fall…"
And the hint to me, and to the few progressives here, is that mighty walls in Israel/Palestine can also fall down. But the great thing was it brought the elders on the stage, sorry about that word, the older folks on the stage, leaping to their feet. Made me actually believe that he might pull it off. Here's hoping…
Oh one other thing: we're on the map. The pro-Palestinian progressives, who would lay all America's problems in the Middle East at the doorstep of Israel, in Obama's words (or in my words the people who say that we have to resolve this issue fairly for America to be healed), the ones who want to distance our country from Israel–Obama alluded to us, in order to smack us down-. It's a "false premise that abandoning a stalwart ally is somehow" the path to strength, he said. Even as he attacked a "foreign policy [that] is dangerously flawed." Well I don't think you can have it both ways. And I don't think Obama thinks so either.
OK. Time to push my head into a vat of butter. Hillary's speech.
One other thing. Obama got something interesting wrong. Nancy Pelosi had just dangled dogtags on the stage, of Goldwasser, Shalit, and Regev, the three captured Israeli soldiers. Tearjerker. Well, Obama also spoke of the soldiers, and said that they were the captives of Hizbullah. Not true. Two are held by Hizbullah, Shalit is Hamas's captive. No it's not addlepated, ala McCain, confusing Shia and Sunni. But it's a little careless. And actually, it makes me feel better: that Obama hasn't studied the talking poiints that closely. Revealing. He had no trouble remembering the names and races of the three great martyrs in Mississippi…
