Obama Bashing (by Jews and Others)

President Barack Hussein Obama addressed the AIPAC lobby this morning in Washington DC.

He spoke for 36 minutes. The reception was lukewarm. Earlier, Liz Cheney (Dick Cheney's daughter) called for his removal. She said that no US President had done more to undermine and de-legitimize Israel - to the cheers of thousands.

Great fear and distrust of Obama remain in America. The canard that he is not American continues to circulate. The word hate is used time and again. The predominance of feeling over intellect is astounding. 

These feelings reflect an emotional fence between perception and reality. It may be the result of propaganda directed at the American people by those who wish to preserve the status quo of confrontation and war. Or, its roots might be deeper - the fear of the outsider, the stranger, the other clan. Racism and tribalism are deeply engrained in the human psyche.

Contrasting emotion with reality, here are six facts for American Jews to ponder. 

(1) The extent of military cooperation between Israel and America has NEVER been greater. Israel now has a nuclear submarine armed with the ultimate security. It has Iron Dome. Its policy towards Iran (targeted assassinations) has wide consensus and is working. 

(2) We have disengaged from Iraq and have not initiated a new war. A western alliance has been forged against Iran (much like what GHWB did, prior to the Gulf War). 

(3) Bin Laden is dead and Al Qaida is being blotted out just like Amalek. 

(4) North Korea is being contained. Last week it re-joined the path of sanity (in terms of nuclear policy). This is the biggest change since 2002. 

(5) The US economy is far from healthy, but jobs have been consistently created since early 2010. Our unemployment rate is about 2% better than EU average.

(6) Our debt at about 100% of GDP is too high by any standard. But look at the major sources of that problem which are "controllable" - military spending and entitlements. Both are going down. The RATE at which debt is growing has fallen since 2009 and will continue to fall over the next five years. This is the "guns and butter" issue highlighted by Lyndon Johnson. If we want to make war (or preserve a huge standing army), then we have to pay for it one way or another. 

So let us try to separate emotions from reality. America is not as broken as back during the dark days of 2008. Are there simple, painless solutions on the horizon? Will disemboweling government do the trick? Will launching a strike on Tehran cure our problems? Will repealing Obamacare (really Romneycare) put a dent in our growing health care costs? Is Israel less secure today than four years ago (as the tensions mounted in both Lebanon and Gaza)?

To those who say "Anybody but Obama", who is your candidate? One who can present a sane energy policy? One who has a rational vision of global security, and not just the US as international policeman? One who presents a health care policy that admits the need for rationing services and puts power back in the hands of the docs?

No Republican fits that bill and so I am sticking with the incumbent. The odds-on GOP front runner, Mitt Romney, has ambiguous and variable positions. Which coat is he wearing today? And remember that he has less governing experience than Obama, Carter or Bush Jr. had as they started their runs for the leader of the free world. It is a giant weakness which will be exploited.

Finally, to my Jewish friends, did you hear Obama's AIPAC speech? Go online and spend 30 minutes listening to it. Perhaps there is nothing he can say to dispel the angst that you feel. Many Americans apparently want to make war on Persia. In contrast, a recent poll of Israelis indicates that they do NOT favor a military strike against Iran. Ani hoshev she eleh nachon.

Eric (aka Moshe ben Asher)