I just can’t do it. President
Obama has his weak points. At the outset, President Obama sought to work with
Congress on a bipartisan basis and wasted a lot of time. In the end he could
only accomplish anything by negotiating with those few Republicans willing to
show some independence.
Once the Congress went to a Republican majority, they
made it plain. The most extreme and intransigent bloc would determine
Congressional strategy and that strategy was to place the best interests of the
American people second to ensuring a single term for President Obama. How many Americans suffered long
term unemployment and how many remain unemployed in a slow recovery economy
because this Congress refused to work with the President to produce a
bipartisan jobs bill? It comes down to a matter of
integrity. It is Mitt Romney who is constantly challenged in the media for his
lack of details in his policy statements. It is Mitt Romney who offers a
childish estimate of the millions of jobs that he will create miraculously in
his first six weeks in office. It is Mitt Romney constantly beset by fact
checkers pointing out his misinformation, gaffs and disinformation. It is Mitt Romney
who accepts the PAC and illegal 501C4 advertising by billionaires who clearly
believe that they can buy self-serving public policy through a Romney
administration. And who can forget that we saw all of this with the previous
Bush administration? President Obama may not have been
perfect. Whether you agree with the political party affiliation, the ideology
or even the style of the man, or not, makes no difference. He is not the man
whose political posture and integrity is being questioned. I will have to go
with Obama.
I just don’t get it. To hear
presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the Republican Party and the Republican
Jewish Coalition , President Obama has been inconsistent in his support of Israel
and will have no need to continue his support if re-elected. Mitt Romney, on
the other hand, is described as a good and constant friend. Some even point to
the personal friendship between Bibi Netanyahu and Gov. Romney.
According to an article in the
current Jewish Journal of Broward South, South Florida Jewish voters key in Obama-Romney contest,
the Republican Jewish Coalition has committed over $2 million to a very visible
campaign in Florida, including “Obama…Oy Vey” billboards, newspaper
advertising, buttons and t-shirts and $1.5 million in South Florida TV and
cable channel advertising. A million piece mailing is anticipated from this
organization, all apparently sponsored through the Mitt Romney Presidential
Campaign.
Despite negative posturing by
P.M. Netanyahu in favor of Mitt Romney, Israeli military and political leaders
credit the Obama administration as the
most supportive of Israel in recent decades both militarily and
politically. The apparently poor relationship between president Obama and P.M.
Netanyahu may be as much due to the latter’s friendship with Gov. Romney as due
to President Obama’s criticism and pressure over the settlement policies that
threaten to derail efforts towards peace.
It is this writer’s belief that a
good friend not only takes an interest, but is willing to invest in the
friendship. A good friend does not allow a friend to pursue folly without
saying something, but will then stand by that friend through thick and thin. A
bad friend will speak warmly of friendship but will allow that friend to pursue
folly for their own personal gain and then be absent when most needed.
The last four years has shown
President Obama to be that constant friend. Despite
his criticisms of the settlement policies and stated belief that the final
borders ought to be negotiable from the 1967 boundaries, President Obama has
also asserted that the United States, under his administration, will be a partner
with Israel in addressing the problem of a nuclear threat Iran.
On the other hand, we have
Israel’s great and good friend Mitt Romney who “… insists he would be a better
friend to Israel and opposes public pressure on Israel to compromise for peace
with the Palestinians.” His chief national security adviser, Dan Senor declared
during his recent trip to Israel that “If Israel has to take action on its own
the governor would respect
that decision .” It sounds so good and so simple. But that does not exactly
sound like a friend who intends to be around when the you-know-what hits the
fan.
This is where we have the real
question of friendship. Mitt Romney has made clear that his idea of friendship
with Israel is to be an uncritical supporter, anti- Palestinian and willing to
let Israel take a shot at attacking a hugely larger nation with a well-equipped
military, replete with high tech hardware that can reach Israel, including
missiles and a navy. And he “…would respect that decision.” We haven’t heard
that Mitt Romney is committed to being dragged into another Middle Eastern
conflict upon the decisive action of an ally. It sounds as if Gov. Romney’s
friend, Israel, would be on her own, or so he may hope.
Could it be that President Obama
offers both friendship and international alliance to Israel while Mitt Romney
seems to offer only a heartfelt fair-weather friendship?
