Barack Obama and Israel: More GOP Lies

Look, I've been around politics long enough to know that it's a contact sport. Words will be abused. Phrases will be taken out of context.

But the latest distortion from the GOP, frankly, shouldn't give us all pause -- it should spring us into action.

Here's the story, if you haven't heard - yesterday, Jeffrey Goldberg published a very interesting and engaging interview with Barack Obama, where they spoke at length about Barack's ties to the Jewish community in Chicago and his views on the Middle East peace process. When speaking about the decades old violence that has threatened our ally Israel, Barack said:

But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists to engage in inexcusable actions, and so we have a national-security interest in solving this, and I also believe that Israel has a security interest in solving this because I believe that the status quo is unsustainable.

Does anyone seriously dispute that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a constant, open wound in the Middle East -- exploited by those who would like to see Israel and the United States driven out of the region? Of course not.

It's simply undeniable that the conflict affects all of our Middle Eastern foreign policy. For decades, these have been bi-partisan views:

There remain enemies of this peace, extremists on both sides who feel threatened by the peace and will be tempted once again to kill it with violence. We can defeat that kind of threat by building a genuine Israeli-Palestinian partnership that will stand the test of time -- Bill Clinton

Only through the process of negotiation can all the nations of the Middle East achieve a secure peace. -- Ronald Reagan

Even George W. Bush has said:

For the sake of all humanity, things must change in the Middle East.

It is untenable for Israeli citizens to live in terror. It is untenable for Palestinians to live in squalor and occupation. [...]

Permanent occupation threatens Israel's identity and democracy. A stable, peaceful Palestinian state is necessary to achieve the security that Israel longs for.

But of course, today, rather than seriously disputing that, or, even better, offering a vision of their own on how to find peace in the Middle East and security for Israel, Rep. John Boehner and Rep. Eric Cantor - senior leadership in the House GOP -- decided to ignore the actual meaning of English words and simply invent something Barack Obama didn't say. Here is what they said

Israel is a critical American ally and a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, not a 'constant sore' as Barack Obama claims. -- John Boehner

It is truly disappointing that Senator Obama called Israel a 'constant wound,' 'constant sore,' and that it 'infect[s] all of our foreign policy.' These sorts of words and characterizations are the words of a politician with a deep misunderstanding of the Middle East and an innate distrust of Israel -- Eric Cantor

This is so mendacious that the objective journalist Jeffrey Goldberg himself felt compelled to reply. He writes:

I have no doubt that Mr. Boehner will issue a correction to his press release in which he states the obvious, which is that Obama expressed -- in twelve different ways -- his support for Israel to me.

If he doesn't, however, I would, sadly, have to agree with my colleague, the less-forgiving Andrew Sullivan, who called Boehner's statement a "flat-out lie." In fact, I would add to Andrew's post, by calling Boehner's statement mendacious, duplicitous, gross, and comically refutable. So Mr. Boehner, do the right thing, and correct the record. I'll be happy to post the correction right here.

These statements by Representatives Boehner and Cantor are so bad they rise to the level of a danger to our foreign policy. America's allegiance to Israel has always been bi-partisan and unshakeable. It still is, with either Sen. McCain, Sen. Obama or Sen. Clinton as President. But how can we actually have a debate on foreign policy, if the other side simply makes up statements on which to base phony, contrived outrage?

No, people need to hear the truth -- now.

Here's what Barack said about his personal feelings about Israel in the very same interview:

I think the idea of Israel and the reality of Israel is one that I find important to me personally. Because it speaks to my history of being uprooted, it speaks to the African-American story of exodus, it describes the history of overcoming great odds and a courage and a commitment to carving out a democracy and prosperity in the midst of hardscrabble land. One of the things I loved about Israel when I went there is that the land itself is a metaphor for rebirth, for what's been accomplished. What I also love about Israel is the fact that people argue about these issues, and that they're asking themselves moral questions.

In other words, he said exactly the opposite of what Boehner and Cantor scurrilously allege. The Washington Post gave both Boehner and Cantor multiple Pinocchios for their performance.

Barack Obama has spoken time and time again on the importance of our alliance with Israel, and on how important Israel is to him personally. He has spoken movingly about the inspiration he draws from Israel's historic struggle for independence and its current struggle for security, as well as his deep resolve to continue working to strengthen security for all of Israel's people. He has called America's commitment to Israel's security "unshakeable," a commitment built on the bedrock of the deep friendship between the two nations.

But the Republican Party insists on twisting his words so far they resort to actually lying about their meaning.

We have a foreign policy mess in the Middle East. The Bush administration's Iraq debacle has weakened our diplomatic standing in the region and limited our options in working on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. No wonder all Representatives Boehner and Cantor can do is to create imaginary strawmen to knock down in self-righteous indignation.

I'm not alone in condemning this remark. Here's the statement from Rep. Robert Wexler:

In his dishonest and ridiculous distortion, John Boehner has shown us the new depths that a truly desperate Republican leadership will sink to in its attempt to smear Barack Obama's strong and unshakeable record of support for Israel. This absurd parsing would be laughable if it wasn't so sad to see the U.S.-Israel relationship used as a political wedge instead of a cause to unite all Americans around a common purpose.

And here's Rep. Rahm Emanuel:

On the eve of Israel's 60th anniversary, Congressman Boehner should remember that Israel enjoys bipartisan support and commitment to its security. Nothing could be worse for Israel at this time than for it to become a proxy for Congressman Boehner's political games. Senator Obama's record is clear when it comes to Israel's security and friendship with the United States.

The politics of character assassination from Republicans on the important issues needs to stop. Playing games to drive political wedges as part of some political strategy does great disservice to our country. We need to talk about how to chart a new course, not spread these kinds of distortions.

We deserve better in this country, but we won't get it from the GOP in this election. Already we've seen John McCain trying to describe Barack Obama as Hamas' candidate. That's beneath the John McCain I used to know. But -- sadly -- that is the only way these Republicans have to try and win an election

We deserve better. We need to have an honest and important conversation about how to reorient our foreign policy to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

What we don't need are lies, distortions, and rhetoric designed only to whip up fear. That's part of what got us into this mess, and it won't get us out.

Call Sen. McCain's office at 202-224-2235 and ask him to condemn these statements from his supporters.

Comments

[Rog49Thomas]

This is just the warm-up - spring training.

Wait until the election, when the slime machine will be in full force.

[julieeiluj]

Oh baby, they are going to spend so much time defending the scum thrown at them that they will not get to spell out the disgusting policies of the republican party. I say again, with one tough scrapping experienced partner at his side in Clinton, he will find it easier to avoid the crap that is being brewed. Just imagine the two of them ripping the reps to shreds. This scenario is what the republican party fears the most. They will say the appearance of Clinton will mobilize their party. B.S. That is what they want you to think. It will insure a dem presidency for 8 years. There is too much at stake here at home and all over the world to risk losing in November for any reason whatsoever. Anyone who says Obama can win alone is dreaming. He can't. Come together and WIN!

[econdr]

Kerry made a great point. What the conservatives are doing here is extremely reckless.

Israel is in a pretty good position right now, with both parties supporting it unconditionally. If support for Israel becomes partisan, with republicans being pro-israel and democrats being pro-palestinian, then it will become a wedge issue like abortion or gay marriage, and 50% of America will be pro-Israel and 50% pro-palestinian.

I don't think that is something the Israelis want...

[ProudNeoCon]

that is a great point. unfortunatly left wing of democratic party is already pro-palestinian. But your point is very fair

[Herrington]

Well how can anyone be a ProudNeoCon? But I'm sure you have heard that before.

It is possible to be pro-Palestinian AND pro-Israeli. It is a collision of injustices. The nation of Israel was founded to provide a safe harbor, a homeland, for Jews who had so recently been persecuted. In that effort, the Palestinians suffered a persecution of their own. Which is the nobler cause?

[WoodyCPM]

ProudNeoCon, what solipistic nonsense. So the "left wing of [sic] democratic party is already pro-palestinian." [sic]? .... Well I should hope so. I believe it is in the best interest of everyone to be "pro-Palestinian. How is it that that amounts to an anti-Israeli point of view? One is not the obverse of the other. To be "pro-Palestinian" is not to be anti-Israeli. That is the sophomoric, solipistic baloney that has ruled our political lives for way way too long and the kind of stupidity that maligns both sides of the argument. Israel has a right to exist, and in peace. So do the Palestinians. The Palestinians have a legitimate complaint. I abhor, as to all liberal/pr­ogressives the methods by which that has been registered against the Israelis. I equally abhor the kind of retaliation and gulag approach that the Israelis have had against the Palestinians. As neither an Israeli nor a Palestinian, I don't have a dog in that fight. As a human being I do. When are you people going to stop choosing sides and start working for peace?

[reggieb]

The Republicans don't get it. The "change we deserve" is the truth. I don't think they can deliver.

[Herrington]

reggieb, you are missing the unintended double entendre. The "change we deserve" might well mean less attention from government to the public welfare and not more. The promise is in the eye of the promiser.

[bazokbros]

Republicans have clearly found a hook in which to attack Democrats, parsing statements and distorting them. Unfortunately it seems to be working enough that they are still doing it.

Sen. Kerry, I implore you to have both Reps Boehner and Cantor officially censured for these statements. Sadly, Republicans want conflict under the umbrella that they are the peace makers through intimidation. Look at Sen. McCain's statement that 'I would be Hamas's worst nightmare' statement. I use this allegory how the Dream Team USA lost to Argentenia. That should not have happened that the NBA's multi-millionaries lost to nationals. To me that was a definitive statement that the world has changed and the people who live in oppressed nations need a villain. Statements like those make the USA the perfect foil.

[mamacat]

If there were something in Obama's past that could actually be used against him, Rove would have already done so. Lacking anything meaningful to bring to our attention, he has used his patented guilt-by-a­ssociation­, and now lieing about what someone actually said. Unfortuneately, this is the way the GOP conducts political campaigning now. There is a lot of money to be made when unscrupolous people control the government's purse strings, and the GOP has no intention of giving up the golden goose gracefully.

[HBeachbum]

Are you kidding? The Republicans are just watching the Dems destroy themselves. If and when Obama gets the nomination, then the the real fun will start. You haven'tseen anything yet.

[antenna123]

Did you really write this Mr. Kerry, or did one of your interns write it? Not criticizing the quality, just whether you actually wrote it.

[rabrophy]

John, I remember you from early days of the V.V.A.W. , around the same time Nixon was telling us "I am not a crook!" and your just getting the news that the Republicans are a pack of lying jackals?

[Viper]

he does not help that when fopr the last 3-4 months when ever a repug says something.. we find Hillary rushing to support them...

It started with Hillary stating that only her and McCain are qualified to be Presdient.

Then it was Bitter.. some how means elitist parroting McCain. When Barrack is the only one with an under privledged background who worked in the Ghettos of a major city, taking on civil rights cases, not taking 250K a year salaries as a the number one grad in an IVY law school could have done.

The she brought up Ayres when there is no real tie.. her ties to the black pathers was stronger and communist. The guy was never indicted.. is callege professor... and her husband did pardon two that were convicted.

She has been using Repug talking points. Then there is Lieberman... and those who supported him and his suipport for McCain.

We ask if its a problem with Barrack that he cant get uneducated white voters... Maybe we should be asking if this is a problem still with America and whywe have som amny who are not educated.

Regards

[Madrid]

No, they just assassinate people at will, bomb entire families out of existence, demolish people's houses, and steal people's land.

BTW, do also remind your black friends that, no matter how bad they had it during Jim Crowe, they were still better off than being in Africa?

[NicoleAnonymous]

And innocent Jews have also died - don't try to make either side evil because it doesn't help.

[IngeniousGirl]

agreed

[UpstateNYer]

The problems that exist in Africa were caused by Western colonialism.

[JailNeoconVicts]

Actually, there were plenty of African slave-traders and wars long before Europe began colonizing. Factional rivalries always existed. Egypt and the Ottoman empire did their share; and more recently I don't exactly see how you can call the Sudan-China connection "western colonialism." So there's plenty of blame to go around.

[LBM]

Are you talking about Israel? I think you are a little confused about the actual human rights abuses going on in Israel and the Palestinian territories. I suggest you read the Human Rights Watch report:

http://hrw.org/englishwr2k8/docs/2008/01/31/isrlpa17596.htm

[bb1234]

Hey John, Don't try to spin the statements for the anti-Israel and anti-Zionists on this site. The liberals love to bash Israel. You'd think that there would be mention of the many atrocities in this world, like Darfur. Nope, the liberals are somehow fixated on Israel.

He libs, Israel is surrounded by terrorists who don't value human life. They send their own children out as suicide bombers and consider them heros. Pretty warped if you ask me. You can't make peace with people who don't value the lives of their own children.

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

huh, sounds like the republicans in the US..

from what republicans say... we're surrounded by terrorists and the only way to hold them a bay is to send our own children who aren't even allowed to drink yet to die in the sands of Iraq.

pretty warped...

[JailNeoconVicts]

The difference is that Canada and Mexico haven't launched all-out wars on us in the last sixty years. Israel's neighbors did. I'd say that's a tad different.

[rabrophy]

The Israelis kill the Palistiniens
The Palestinians kill the Israelis
Why do my tax dollars have to pay for it?

[LBM]

Israel is the strongest ally that we have in the middle east. It is a full democracy with equal rights for all its citizens and is as close as any other country in the world to America. Do you believe that the US doesn't need allies? The situation is much more complex than you seem to think. It is in our country's best interests to have peace in the middle east. Israel is our partner towards that end. Would you rather we only depend on Saudi Arabia where their law and policies discriminate against women, foreign workers, and religious minorities. It is still illegal there to practice Judaism.

[McSameisthegame]

The sunnis kill the Shiites and the Shiites kill the Sunnis. Why do my tax dollars have to pay for it???

[Karencnj]

Here's a link to the SFRC hearing on Darfur. You can click on the title and watch it - Senator Kerry and some of the other liberals on the committee actually made some very serious comments and asked some good questions on Darfur. http://www.senate.gov/~foreign/hearings/2008/hrg080423a.html

It is absolutely not true that liberals have not spoken out on Darfur. If I know that conservatives like Brownback have been very good on this issue, it might be good for you to actually find out the position of a liberal before deciding you wouldn't like it.

[donovong]

Senator Kerry:

Thank you for your post. While I am sure that this is a great example of the type of smear we can expect from the Republicans this year, it is not necessary for us to sit back and let it happen. Your support for Senator Obama and for a change in the way this country is doing business will go a long way to making it happen!

Yes We Can!

[ProudNeoCon]

Senator Kerry,

The question to Obama was not "about about the decades old violence that has threatened our ally Israel" as you would lead us to believe. The question was

"JG: Do you think that Israel is a drag on America’s reputation overseas?"

To that Obama answered:

"BO: No, no, no. But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists to engage in inexcusable actions, and so we have a national-security interest in solving this, and I also believe that Israel has a security interest in solving this because I believe that the status quo is unsustainable."

Now that presents his answer in very different light. Doesn't it?

However republicans who jumped on Obama were dishonest because in the rest of interview Obama keeps talking about his support for Israel. So you are probobly correct about what Obama meant but that is not what he said...

All that said I have 0 believe that Obama supports Israel. But that belief is shaped based on his prior statements and a crew of anti-israili advisors he surounded himself with, not on this interview...

[Michmod]

You are wrong. Barack Obama, like most of us, supports the state of Israel. But the way we have unconditionally supported the policies of certain Israeli regimes is wrong. Both Israel and the Palestinians need to change. We have advocated only that the Palestinians concede. That will get us all nowhere. Including the Israelis -- most of whom do not support the radical Zionism their gov't is currently paracticing.

[LBM]

I'm not sure where you have been but the Israeli regime that you are so against has been out of power for a while. The Kadima party is in power now, that is a centrist party who supports the road map to peace. They have pulled out of Gaza, destroyed and evacuated all the Israeli settlements there. What they got in return is constant rocket attacks over the border and a violent takeover of the territory by the terrorist organization Hamas who has killed more Palestinians there in 2007 than Israeli forces have for the first time since 1967. How do you think America could keep its allies if they all criticized who we put in power? Would it be ok for them to say they're not our allies any more because we elected a republican? We support Israel and their efforts to live in peace. If you want a better understanding of the situation, please read the Human Rights Watch report:

http://hrw.org/englishwr2k8/docs/2008/01/31/isrlpa17596.htm

[POdVet]

Kurtzer, who joined Sen. Obama's foreign policy team in April 2008, served as U.S. Ambassador to Egypt (1997-2001) and Israel (2001-2005), and is "long recognized by Israeli leaders, including prime ministers, as biased against Israel and is notorious for urging extreme concessions from the Jewish state,"

[Viper]

Actauully, I'm sorry but No,No, No... sort of says it all... He does not say Isreal is a constant sore... its this wound is a constant sore... so unless for some unkown reason you can replace wound with Isreal , Kerry's reading comprehension is better than yours.

Regards

[torrrep]

Actually, I'm sorry but you need to take an English course. The question directly referred to Israel and Israel only. At no point did it refer to the conflict. So either Obama meant what he said or he didn't understand the question. Either way he looks bad.

[Msohio]

I live in Ohio and I know that Boehner is evil and will come out and tell untruths and is never forced to defend his terrible statements.

[peterdangit]

I live in China and I know you're lying...

[UpstateNYer]

I live in New York and I believe you throw around the word evil too much.

[KOisGod]

In November, the lance will be thrust through the heart of the NeoCON lie

And Republican's will be relegated to watching their MIC stocks go south and their SUV's sitting in their garages, out of gas, while Hybrids rule the roads.

[mamak]

Well said. I think we need to push the TRUTH more frequently, vigorously and with veracity that it will drown the LIES that GOP operatives are spinning out. Their target is the Independents. So we need to get them to parse the lies from the truth.

"That's beneath the John McCain I used to know"-Sen. John Kerry.
I bet Obama knows how that feels like. (McCain's recent behavior reminds me of Rev. Wright).

[Michmod]

Thank you Mr. Kerry. These outright misstatements of truth need to be beaten down and the perpetrators need to be brought to account. They are destroying this country. Painful lessons learned from 2004. As a citizen, thank you for helping bring us into a informed future.