Obama's Israel Okey-Doke

Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 8:16:27 am PST

Barack Obama is in Israel, telling everybody what he thinks they want to hear—except the journalists he continues to shun: Obama: I’m here to reaffirm special US-Israel relationship.

After a series of meetings with Israeli officials and a visit to Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, US presidential contender Senator Barack Obama travelled 30-minutes from Jerusalem to the West Bank town of Ramallah on Wednesday afternoon where he assured Palestinian leaders he’d get involved in the Mideast conflict quickly, a top Palestinian official said.

In his meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Obama confirmed “that he will be a constructive partner in the peace process” and would not “waste a minute” if elected, Chief Palestinian negotiator Saed Erekat said.

Obama left Abbas’s headquarters without speaking to reporters.

Obama photo of the day.