Rachel Maddow and Mr. Bungle

Part one

Part two

Is Obama in trouble for pressuring Israel?

I started to write the post as a criticism of Obama for wimping out, but according to this opinion piece the neo-cons are gearing up to attack him for pressuring Israel.  The irony is that contrary to Monachem Begin’s irritated musings, the peace with Egypt has now lasted for three decades (in fact Egypt joined the coalition against Iraq in the first war – Bush Sr.’s political abilities being quite superior to his son’s) and Israel has little or no worry of military attack from the south.  Resentful or not, Israel benefitted.

I don’t think conservatives need an excuse to go after Obama, and I think his lack of advertised audacity is a major source of his problems rather than his actual convictions, but the article does raise some interesting historical patterns.

From the article:

After six months in office, Barack Obama’s presidency reveals striking parallels not only to Bill Clinton’s troubled first term, but to Jimmy Carter’s only term. And, how those dangers are reappearing show that the Democrats and American progressives have learned little over the past 30 years.

Many analysts already have noted the eerie similarities between Obama’s troubles and Clinton’s political woes 16 years ago. In both cases, the Democratic presidents started off by rebuffing calls for serious investigations of abuses committed by their Republican predecessors.

However, instead of showing reciprocity, the Republicans went on the offensive ginning up “scandals” and challenging the legitimacy of the two Democrats, for instance, by spreading rumors linking Clinton to “mysterious deaths” and by winking at slurs about Obama not being born in the United States.

Republicans also voted solidly against major policy initiatives advanced by Clinton and Obama. Faced with that unified GOP resistance, the Democratic majorities started to splinter, especially over the key issue of health-care reform which became Clinton’s first-term “Waterloo” much as Republicans hope it will be for Obama.

Yet, arguably, the parallels to Jimmy Carter’s one-term presidency may be even more on point. Unlike Clinton whose reckless sexual behavior fueled the Republican campaigns against him, Carter and Obama are viewed as men of personal discipline and morality.

Read the rest through the above link.