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MAY 25, 2011 |
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By Matthew Continetti |
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COLD OPEN |
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President Obama's recent speech on the Middle East reminded me of something Jay Cost wrote back in April: "Day by day, week by week, we are becoming more aware that, when it comes to the political dance in Washington, Obama is foxtrotting with two left feet."
Let's start with Obama's gratuitous and self-defeating call for the borders of Israel and a future Palestinian state to be "based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps." That utterance is cause for outrage not only because it's damaged our relationship with a key ally, but because it puts the weight of the U.S. government behind the Palestinians just as Fatah has accepted Hamas into the PLO.
What's troubling is that Obama would say such a thing when there is no apparent gain to be made from it. Even the president must understand that the "peace process" has been dead for years—and especially so after the Fatah-Hamas rapprochement. So what does being tough on Israel get him? There's a sophisticated argument that Obama has tried to use the U.S.-Israel alliance as a chip to barter for better relations with the "Muslim world." Last I checked, though, America is still unpopular in the region. And sacrificing Israel is much too high a price to pay for "popularity."
Then there's the home front. Obama's focus on Israel while Hamas fires rockets and Bashar Assad mows down Syrians is not only morally obtuse, but needlessly splits both the president's own party in Washington and an important national Democratic constituency. The criticism from Democratic officials was swift. On the May 22 Meet the Press, GOP strategist Mike Murphy pointed out that that one sentence probably cost Obama "75,000 votes in Florida." And the Wall Street Journal reported last week that high profile Democratic fundraisers are warning the Obama campaign that Israel could cost the president financial support.
Obama's not only a bad ally. As the man said: He's bad at politics. |
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LOOKING BACK |
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"Pawlenty embodies the concept known as Minnesota Nice. Minnesotans are impeccably polite. They always seem to be smiling. They seem shorn of arrogance. They avoid conflict. How these people elected Jesse Ventura governor is a mystery. Playing wall ball, Pawlenty lets the kids take the lead and congratulates the members of other teams when they hit a hard-to-reach target. Someone jokes that if Ventura were here he would tackle the kids and use the reporters as human javelins."
—Matthew Continetti, "Tooting the Horn of Pawlenty," from our May 7, 2007, issue.
Remember you get full access to THE WEEKLY STANDARD archive when you subscribe. |
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FROM THE DESKTOP |
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How to speak Dothraki
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The New Yorker takes on the dating 'game' |
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK (SO FAR!) |
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"Humanity has unquestionably one really effective weapon—laughter. Power, money, persuasion, supplication, persecution—these can lift at a colossal humbug—push it a little—weaken it a little, century by century; but only laughter can blow it to rags and atoms at a blast. Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand."
—Mark Twain, quoted in Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead by Rick Meyerowitz, p. 9. |
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LOOKING AHEAD |
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Coming up, our special issue on defense policy. Also, Harvard professor Harvey Mansfield will reflect on the aftermath of the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dominique Strauss-Kahn scandals. And we'll continue our coverage of the Middle East. |
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PARTING SHOT |
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Several of you wrote to ask why I hadn't mentioned Herman Cain in last week's newsletter on the 2012 Republican nomination. Sad to say, I simply forgot about him.
That's a mistake I won't make twice. Cain has emerged as a likable, funny, and charming possibility. He's certainly the most fun to watch of all the candidates now running. And that counts for a lot: Mike Huckabee rode his wit and approachability to victory in the 2008 Iowa caucuses and beyond.
Still, Cain isn't without problems. I believe the FairTax is a loser for Republicans, both substantively and politically. Cain supports it. And while I like his instincts, he clearly needs to learn more about foreign policy. Also, political experience may not count for much, but it does count. The last president who was elected without serving in prior office was Dwight Eisenhower. And D-Day was a pretty effective demonstration of executive capability.
The nomination contest looks like it's going to be two-tiered. There will be a battle between Romney, Pawlenty, and Huntsman. And there will be a battle between Bachmann, Gingrich, Santorum, and Cain for the chance to be the conservative alternative to Romney, Pawlenty, or Huntsman. In caucuses as wide open as Iowa's, Herman Cain has as good a chance as any to break out from the pack.
See you next week. And don't forget you can write me at editor@weeklystandard.com.
--Matthew Continetti
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