Also, from Jennifer Rubin:
The president just finished speaking to a packed convention room at the AIPAC policy conference. He was not booed when he entered; most stood and offered brief applause. Still, the crowd during the speech had long periods of stony silence, and audible boos were heard when he brought up his plan to base an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal on the 1967 border lines. President Obama took nothing back from his foreign policy speech on Thursday and blamed the press for any controversy. He doubled down, making this upcoming presidential election a time for choosing for friends of Israel.See also, Elliott Abrams, "Obama at AIPAC: Correcting Some Errors, Compounding Others." Plus, from Bruce Kesler, "Reactions to President Obama at AIPAC" (via Memeorandum and Power Line).
Heck of a speech. That's his greatest talent. His leadership and strong arming skills are another matter entirely. He's awful at starting or finishing political battles.
ReplyDeleteBut the fact that a right wing pro Israel lobby didn't boo him shows that at the core, his words on Thursday were true. A two state solution would involve a mutually agreed upon land swap, not, as others have embellished, the US forcing Israel to give up its land or security. George H.W. Bush took the same position. So did Clinton. So did George W. Bush. Obama is the fourth straight prsident to support the Two State Solution with a land swap as part fo the "road map."