Yesterday the NYT’s Michael Shear reported on Republican candidates using Israel against Obama in an effort to win Jewish “voters”:
Mr. Obama’s Republican rivals are likely to try to use the White House meeting [with Bibi Netanyahu] on March 5 — which comes on the day before the Super Tuesday primaries — to renew their attacks on an administration they say has not done enough to help protect and support Israel…
[The candidates’] pledges of support for Israel and criticisms of the president on his handling of Iran are likely to become ever more strident as the Republican candidates look for ways to criticize Mr. Obama’s foreign policy….
Now, Republicans appear eager to use the administration’s wariness of an Israeli strike on Iran to paint Mr. Obama as a reluctant supporter of Israel’s security.
The piece is remarkable for one reason– the commentary from readers is so overwhelmingly critical of dog-tail-wagging. Here are some excerpts from the American street:
With all due respect to Israel, we do not go to war to protect another country especially after the lies about the war of choice against Iraq. That cannot be treated like the past as prologue to yet another big mistake fueled by the war mongering republicans….
By all means, drive us into another war that will cost us hundreds of billions of dollars and countless American lives, just so you can win an election….
Oh boy, we’re going to get railroaded into another lost before it began war because these nitwits are calling another patriotism challenge….
it is beyond repulsive to see the behavior of our so-called elected officials — whose allegiance should be to this country — display such fealty to israel. how fortunate that the annual aipac meeting is taking place and that netanyahu can make the high-profile rounds of interviews and meetings. does he get invited to make another speech before congress — something rarely granted to foreign leaders.
This is NYT. Hope Jon Stewart gets the idea by now.
Political reporters are starting to say Obama may be vulnerable because of the rise in the price of gasoline.
If that is such an important issue, shouldn’t it affect Americans’ attitude towards the confrontation with Iran that is causing the rise in price?
RE: “Oh boy, we’re going to get railroaded into another lost before it began war because these nitwits are calling another patriotism challenge…” ~ comment
MY COMMENT: I think we should bring back the old-fashioned “pis*ing contest” as a replacement for the “patriotism challenge”.
It’s all good.
Things change when a particular political movement becomes so outrageous as to be a farce and transparently so. This is what finally causes a neon sign to turn on in the public mind flashing STOP THIS. Think of how long the antics of Joe McCarthy went on and with time he became so strident, so bold, so full of himself that the tide turned. J. Edgar Hoover only lasted because he kept everything discreet and was a master of backing off when necessary.
Extremism of any stripe is nothing if not certain of how correct is its thinking. When mass opinion tends in its direction, it can remain subdued because things are going its way. But when serious questions start, when doubt appears, it’s like the curtain being pulled aside on the Wizard of Oz and the lever pulling is revealed.
I would like to thank Bibi and the Republicans for making possible his astounding performance in front of Congress last year. It’s the kind of bold, self-confident move that shows just how far things have gone…how far gone is our legislature.
It will be interesting to see what AIPAC does with the Lieberman amendment…..Americans are pretty confused about Iran, but it seems like everybody knows who really wants war…..