Earlier this week, Obama had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel, Beyamin Netanyahu, which, I dare say, was a disaster (mostly for Obama). While I do not like their slant on the issue, Times Online provides a good explanation of what happened. Obama was, quite frankly, rude. He simply got up and left during a meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister and later uninvited him from dinner. Such behavior to a major political leader can be seen as an insult to said leader's country, or, in this case, even said leader's entire nation (i.e. a large percentage of Jews around the world are upset).
While upsetting Israel is not that big a problem for the U.S., in and of itself, Obama has also upset a large number of his Jewish constituents. Even back in 1974, when many recently-immigrated jewish families had yet to earn large sums of money, Jewish donors gave what amounted to ~75% of donations to the Democratic party*. Even if the number has gone down, pissing off even a few of these huge donors will damage the Democratic party and its ability to fund candidates. Without this funding Democrates will have a harder time winning elections, because, whether we like it or not, money spent on advertising is closely linked to winning elections.
If Obama does not scramble to make up for his insult to Netanyahu, he may well have destroyed his chances at a second term.
*http://www.davidduke.com/general/michael-collins-piper-jews-donating-70-to-80-to-democrats-gop-not-far-behind_1983.html
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Great post. I heard the relationship between the U.S. and Israel has been getting worse over the past few months, this definitely confirms that. I can see why you don't like the "slant" the Times put on that story, they make it seem like Obama was polite and accommodating. To be honest I don't understand the details of what caused Obama to act out like that. He's probably more stressed out than anyone in the country. Unfortunately, even one lapse of judgment like this can bring the end of a president. Although it's years away, the next election looks like it could be quite a fight. Kennedy's seat was filled by a republican, as was Hawaii's house seat. The election could be tight and the donations from the Jewish community Obama has risked losing could really hurt him. Will see what the future holds. Hopefully Obama will grab a flurry at Wendy's with Netanyahu and patch everything up.
ReplyDeleteShirley,
ReplyDeleteA good topic to consider here -- but, like Andy, I'd like to hear more about Obama's motives. Were his actions a deliberate rebuke to increasing Jewish settlements? I wonder what you think of the coverage of recent Israeli military agression.