re: #160 Targetpractice

I’ve seen the suggest put out there that the best thing that the President could do in response to this latest ploy by the GOP is just to refuse to meet with Bibi while he’s in town. That by slamming the door in his face publicly, a message will be sent to Israeli voters that Netanyahu is endangering US-Israeli relations with his warmongering BS. Sure, the wingnuts will go apeshit and the pundits will opine at length about how this makes the President look “anti-Israeli,” but what’s the alternative? A very frosty reception where both sides mime cordial relations when in reality one is using the other to improve his chances at reelection?

I don’t think that’s the wisest course. Let the President meet with Bibi. Have it done in private. No public pomp and circumstances. The GOP will go nuts no matter what the President says or does, even if the US gives Israel billions more for anti-missile defense systems. The President could simply say that he’s not going to meddle in the internal politics of a near-dear ally like Israel, so saying/doing more than that would be inappropriate. Israel’s electorate will make the decision as they see fit, and the US will not meddle in the outcome. The GOP will, of course, claim that by not meddling, the US is meddling.