APPROVING THE MAN WITH SOMETHING TO PROVE

With all the high-flying political rhetoric amidst the backdrop of our low flying stock market, focus on Iran-and the threat it poses to the middle east, particularly Israel-has gone into the background. Just this past month Israel approached our country seeking our approval as it were to pre-emptively strike Iran should the situation require. The Bush administration gave a flat out "no" and it goes without saying that a disapproving United States pressures Israel on many levels. Mr. Bush's reasons are his own-well it seems they always are, but among the factors here is that he may well feel since he had so long talked the talk about loving/supporting/courting (take your pick) of Jews and Israel and that he no longer needs their votes, he has nothing to prove. And therein lies the rub and the special way in which Barack Hussein Obama, the man with something to prove, may be the best thing for Israel, ever. Consider the very Conservative publication Ha'aretz in Israel-there's this idea Obama may well be one of the best if not the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House.

Let's review some quick history: Harry Truman, a Democrat we should remind the Republicans who claim to revere him, recognized Israel and was followed into office by Dwight D. Eisenhower. President "Ike" gave Israel his sympathy (perhaps) but nothing else, and to be brutally frank, sympathy is hard to lock and load. Then came JFK, whose father Joe in the words of so many in that time was not unsympathetic to a lot of the "ambiance" of Nazi Germany, to put it politely. So then JFK had something to prove, and that he did, sending Israel the arms she would eventually need in the 1967 Six Day War, need as in to survive.

To make a very long story just a bit more concise later came Nixon, that old "commie baiter" himself. But it was he who thus could and did choose to open relations with communist China. On point it was a Democrat, President Bill Clinton, who would engineer the greatest welfare reform, far more to the center than many would have predicted in his presidency. So worry not fearful Jews, heed the words of Ha'aretz, often called the "Fox News of Israel" which mentioned the Kennedys (not Nixon or Clinton) as making such a point, namely that Barack Middle Name Hussein Obama, the man with something to prove, will prove it to Israel's benefit. If you need further hints, it's known that many Arab states, specifically Saudi Arabia, are very un-thrilled at the prospect of an Obama presidency. Finally think, really think of what men like our current President Bush who feel they have nothing to prove regarding Israel have done outside of rhetoric. It took Mr. Bush over seven years to even visit Israel, and this past summer he forbid her to take any preemptive action against Iran should a nuclear strike seem imminent. Right, he doesn't have to help Israel, just profess his love, because he's the man with nothing to prove.