White House Hypocrisy on Israel
SAN DIEGO -- President Obama has no shortage of chutzpah. His message to Benjamin Netanyahu: Do as I say, not as I have done.
The White House is furious with the Israeli prime minister because some of the same Democratic operatives who helped get Obama elected were unsuccessful in trying to defeat Netanyahu in the recent Israeli election.
Wait, that's not the right cover story. Ah yes, here it is:
The White House is furious with the Israeli prime minister because some U.S. officials have concluded that Netanyahu cannot be trusted and will not hesitate to engage in unscrupulous behavior.
Look who's talking. Does anyone trust the Obama administration? Not Republican lawmakers on the right or Democratic activists on the left.
The administration has criticized Netanyahu for playing the race card (against Arab voters), for being insincere, and for flip-flopping for the sake of politics on an important issue -- namely, support for a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
In the last six years, Obama, members of his administration and their supporters have done all these things and more in dealing with a host of touchy and controversial domestic issues ranging from Obamacare to immigration reform.
Playing the race card? Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois recently accused Republicans who have failed to confirm Loretta Lynch's nomination as attorney general of shoving Lynch, who is African-American, to "the back of the bus."
Being insincere? In a single speech, Obama will promise to work with the opposition and move beyond partisanship and then, a few paragraphs later, demonize Republicans.
Flip-flopping? Obama spent four years insisting that he didn't have the executive authority to stop illegal immigrants from being deported. Then, facing re-election in 2012, he miraculously found the power he claimed he didn't have.
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