Unlike President Bush, who "neglected" the Israeli/Palestinian peace process until the waning days of his administration, Obama intends to immediately get on it. Last week, he told America's Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) -- America's leading pro-Israel lobby -- that he supports a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the sole, undivided capital of Israel. (The Bush administration, currently in negotiations with the Israelis and Palestinians, hasn't taken a position on this thorny issue, preferring the parties to negotiate between themselves.) After Obama's statement, the Palestinians immediately cried, "Foul!" and said there would be no discussions with that stipulation! Hamas, the Palestinian terror group, called him no different from Bush. Thus, with this demand, a President Obama threatens to derail talks from the very beginning. But wait!
The next day, Obama said that, well, "obviously" the issue of Jerusalem should be decided by the Israelis and Palestinians -- adopting the same position as "cowboy" Bush.
That's hope.
On deterring Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, Obama accused the Bush administration of "saber rattling." Obama's Web site calls for aggressive diplomacy, but mentions nothing about a military option. But wait!
He told AIPAC, "Let there be no doubt: I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally Israel."
What about Iran's Revolutionary Guard? When Sen. Clinton voted to declare the Revolutionary Guard a terror organization, Obama criticized her, and deemed the vote irresponsibly militant. But wait!
He told AIPAC that Iran's Revolutionary Guard is, indeed, a terror organization. So why did he vote otherwise, and attack Clinton? Well, said Obama at the time, it was an unnecessarily belligerent move. But apparently, now they are terrorists because, well, it isn't as belligerent to say so today as it was to say so yesterday.
That's more hope and more change. So, I told Margaret, here's hoping you find this hopeful. If not, I'll change it.
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