Obama is a constitutionally limited mortal being. As such, he is not going to overcome 8 years of George W. Bush administration screw-up and eight years of GWB ignoring major world problems all in his first year. In THAT general sense (ONLY) it is true that blockages on one front divert energy from other fronts.

There is no other reason to link ending asinine obeisance to Jerusalem nutcases with domestic health care reform or anything else. Would anyone claim that success in rolling back the Taliban in Afghanistan or in reducing AIDS in Africa critically depends on, say, whether California can balance its budget?

99.999% of the world is against letting Israeli extremists continue to torpedo Mideast peace by building ghastly cement bunkers on land stolen from from Palestinians. The other .0001% may go, on its own steam, more speedily to the hell it wants to build. Period.

Herzl said a lot of other things also.

In Der Judenstaat, published in 1896, he wrote, ‘if only we begin to carry out the plans (for a Jewish state), anti-Semitism would stop at once and for ever. For it is the conclusion of peace.’

He ends with the following words:

‘The Jews who wish for a state shall have it.
We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own homes.
The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness.
And whatever we attempt there to accomplish for our own welfare, will react powerfully and beneficially for the good of humanity.’

He died, tragically, just eight years later, aged 44. Never knowing how his vision would, in many ways, become the antithesis of that for which he had worked and striven so hard, for so long, that he eventually died prematurely.

Just over a century later, anti-Semitism has not stopped nor declined, and there is no peace. The world is not freed by Jewish liberty or magnified by Israel’s greatness. Rather we are damaged and diminished by Israel’s weakness and its continued propensity to destabilize the entire region, and thereby the world.

Thankfully, Theodor Herzl will never know.

Guide to the perplexed:

"an outstanding police officer" may "act stupidly"

What Obama said does not contradict or revoke what he had said before. Mishandling an incident without terrible consequences and without past pattern of other such incidents does not overturn good evaluation of an officer, and if there was some "grade inflation" here (perhaps Sgt. Crowley is merely "very good", not "outstanding"?, perhaps Prof. Gates is "amicable, but only occasional acquaintance" rather than "a very good friend"?), it is actually expected rather than surprising.

This smiling dude is so obsessed with Israel, Netanyahu and settlements that he is becoming pathetic.

RE: "If Health Reform Fails, Netanyahu Will Prevail On Settlements."

MY COMMENT: For the most part, I agree with your premise. Obama's being successful on health care reform will help, but the stagnant economy still means that 'time is of the essence'. If health care reform fizzles, it must be spun so that it is not seen as a "loss" for Obama.

Though I'm not such a big fan of the health care reform, it's funny yo see Netanyahu waiting for Obama's popularity to drop. I think there are a lot of politicians who will gladly sustain Israeli's politics, no matter if there are some very delicate nuances. A friend of mine, who works at a Narconon clinic, told me that Obama is the toughest president he ever elected and he will not concede his agenda to pressures.

It feels weird to discuss about health, I find it ridiculous how some people don’t realize its importance. They usually fight because of some misunderstandings. And let me tell you, these misunderstandings will lead to major conflicts. But this is not our problem. They can disagree as long as they want .We only have to use the system in our advantage. My friend says that she got the best drug rehab treatment she could get and she’s very happy about it. That’s all that counts.