Now It's Up to Bibi, Stormy Update

Dana Milbank
Eugene Robinson
Anne Applebaum
Richard Galpin


The largest criticism of Obama's Cairo speech is that he defined problems in the region, but didn't offer any solutions. It did impress many, so much that it may have had impact on the Lebanese election, and also on upcoming ones in Iran and Affghanistan. The next step has just been taken with Obama talking to Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, about his upcoming speech next week. As reported by the Washington Times: "President Obama, taking the next steps he promised in his address to the Muslim world, spoke Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to outline the goals he mentioned in the speech and deployed his special envoy to the region.

The men spoke 20 minutes about the speech. Mr. Obama told Mr. Netanyahu that he "looked forward to hearing the prime minister's upcoming speech outlining his views on peace and security," the White House said, calling the talk "constructive."
Mr. Netanyahu will speak next week about his own vision for Middle East peace and policy. He is expected to focus on Iran and Syria."

The ball is now in Israel's court, with pressure to come up with something constructive. Mr Netanyahu doesn't really want to do anything. He thought that when he was elected he could coast on the issue and keep the status quo. Unfortunately, by sending troops into Gaza he brought the Palestinian problem to the forefront of the world's attention. There has been a peace plan that has been accepted by all of the Arab nations since 2002, even backed by Israeli President Shimon Peres, but is rejected by Netanyahu and his supporters because it was proposed by Saudi Arabia... Special envoy George Mitchell is meeting today with Mr Peres, and then making another tour meeting other heads of state in the region.

Our own right wing mentally ill people are going off pretty wild and hysterical, saying that Obama unveiled how much of a Muslim he really is, as if it is a bad thing. For example, here's Frank Gaffney, wriiting in the Washington Times: "During his White House years, William Jefferson Clinton -- someone Judge Sonia Sotomayor might call a "white male" -- was dubbed "America's first black president" by a black admirer. Applying the standard of identity politics and pandering to a special interest that earned Mr. Clinton that distinction, Barack Hussein Obama would have to be considered America's first Muslim president.

This is not to say, necessarily, that Mr. Obama actually is a Muslim any more than Mr. Clinton actually is black. After his five months in office, and most especially after his just-concluded visit to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, however, a stunning conclusion seems increasingly plausible: The man now happy to have his Islamic-rooted middle name featured prominently has engaged in the most consequential bait-and-switch since Adolf Hitler duped Neville Chamberlain over Czechoslovakia at Munich."

In the first two paragraphs is the maligning of Bill Clinton, then Barack Obama, and equating him to that good old bugaboo that surfaced during the last election campaign, Adolf Hitler. Instead of talking honestly to people, Frank would rather continue to bully and denigrate people he doesn't like as if he were some sullen adolescent. The sad part is that there are quite a few angry folks who are expressing themselves in more violent language as their frustration mounts with each new action by the President and Democratic Party. It's becoming more common in blogs on the Internet, and I'm seeing less balanced and moderate viewpoints, and more partisan hacking.

From Politico comes and update on the David Vitter vs Stormy Daniels contest in Louisiana. Or the I Use Prostitutes While I Dress in Diapers Guy vs Porn Star with Really Large Implants contest: "Welsh dismisses the criticism that the Louisiana Democrats couldn’t come up with a better candidate to face incumbent Republican Sen. David Vitter, who’s trying to overcome an embarrassing prostitution scandal as he runs for his second term.

“For Republicans who say that, the obvious answer is, look at the candidate they have in the face. And the bottom line is, we believe on behalf of the Stormy Daniels effort and that she has the character, integrity and responsibility to be an excellent senator from the state of Louisiana.”

Ha, says one Louisiana GOP insider, who quipped: “Although her two biggest assets are critical to her rise in her current industry, they aren’t necessarily a résumé builder for the political sphere.”

Meanwhile, fun moments happen on these listening tours. At the one in Baton Rouge in May, six TV cameras and five photographers showed up, and Daniels joked that if they got any closer, they “would have to tip.”