Thomas Friedman--
I am a big Joe Biden fan.
OK, stop right there. "A big Joe Biden fan"? Think about that for just a second... I mean, I love Ol' Joe's comedy routine as much as the next guy, but I don't think that's where Friedman is going.
The vice president is an indefatigable defender of U.S. interests abroad.
Stop again; "indefatigable defender"...? This is that same Joe Biden who advocated the trisection of Iraq, opposed the surge, and more recently sponsored the "over-the-horizon" strategy in Afghanistan, not to be confused with his "over-the-rainbow" strategy for dealing with neo-nuclear Iran (OK, I made that up...that one belongs to Obama).
So it pains me to say that on his recent trip to Israel, when Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s government rubbed his nose in some new housing plans for contested East Jerusalem, the vice president missed a chance to send a powerful public signal: He should have snapped his notebook shut, gotten right back on Air Force Two, flown home and left the following scribbled note behind: “Message from America to the Israeli government: Friends don’t let friends drive drunk. And right now, you’re driving drunk.
We have to stop again. It is NEVER a good idea to mention "Biden" and "drunk" in the same sentence, Tom. Very, very poor marketing. But let's talk for a second about your condescension to Israel and its leader. Or, better still, we'll just let you demonstrate it some more...
You think you can embarrass your only true ally in the world, to satisfy some domestic political need, with no consequences? You have lost total contact with reality. Call us when you’re serious. We need to focus on building our country.”
"Building our country" sounds kinda like exactly what the Israelis were doing, Tom. They seemed to be "satisfying some domestic need" to act like a sovereign nation, the kind that is vital and developing. They seem to have this weird drive to conduct themselves like a proud, exceptional people. I know that Joe Biden and Obama are totally clueless about that, as are you, Tom. But try to understand that impulse, in the name of diversity.
It is hardly a big surprise to many who knew Obama to be the man he is before the election, but the American relationship with Israel has never been colder. You keep advising Joe Biden (Good Old Indefatigable), Tom, and it might chill to the freezing point.
And this administration might need a relationship above absolute zero, just so somebody can do something about those Iranian nukes.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/pollak/256801
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