Obama's Remarks About Israel Drawing Scorn From All Corners

Spoken by the president yesterday, at one of his three fundraisers, where he inconvenienced  99% of New Yorkers (on what is most likely the busiest day of the year) in order to hobnob - and take cash donation from - the same 1% that he constantly pretends to disdain.

Pop quiz:  What's the biggest lie Barack Obama tells in this paragraph?

I try not to pat myself too much on the back, but this administration has done more in terms of the security of the state of Israel than any previous administration. And that's not just our opinion, that's the opinion of the Israeli government. Whether it's making sure that our intelligence cooperation is effective, to making sure that we're able to construct something like an Iron Dome so that we don't have missiles raining down on Tel Aviv, we have been consistent in insisting that we don't compromise when it comes to Israel’s security. And that’s not just something I say privately, that’s something that I said in the U.N. General Assembly. And that will continue.

I know, there are so many. But time's up, so put your pencils down. The answer is:

I try not to pat myself too much on the back...

Yeah, right.  It's amazing the president hasn't dislocated his shoulder.  Dude must be double-jointed...

This photo of the president, as per the NY Daily News, was taken at one of his fundraisers yesterday.  Not quite the hopey-changey facial expression you were looking for...?

Anyway, the aforementioned mockery:  Via the Weekly Standard:

"The problem with the president is that he'll say anything to donors for the sake of a couple bucks," a pro-Israel insider tells me. "But fortunately most Americans aren't living on Mars--and they'll be aghast at the ridiculousness of the president's remarks."

Jen Rubin:

It’s hard not to blanch at the gall.

Does he actually imagine he’s been such a dear friend to Israel? Matt Brooks of the Republican Jewish Coalition could not contain himself, tweeting: “Will the real [Obama] stand up. Is it the one who praises Israel in front of rich donors or trashes her with Sarkozy?” He later added that “one scenario (Sarkozy) shows what is in his heart, while the other scenario (rich Jewish contributors) shows political pandering.”

...But know as he does the anger and disappointment among Jewish Democrats concerning the administration’s conduct toward Israel, wouldn’t a smart pol forgo the self-congratulations, or at least ease up on the self-slobbering? Ah, but that assumes Obama truly understands the antipathy toward his Israel policy. More likely, he views this as merely a communications problem or the work of nefarious right-wing forces. In any event, he comes across as not only vain but tone-deaf...

Johnathan Tobin:

...the idea that a president who has done more to undermine Israel’s position on its capital Jerusalem or to heighten tension over the peace process and territorial issues and has utterly failed to deal with the greatest threat to Israel’s security — Iran — should be patting himself on the back is more than political hyperbole, it is satire.


"Satire". Might be the best word to describe everything we've seen in the last four years...