Even as Hillary Clinton exits the U.S. race for president, the leadership race is in full swing in Israel. The woman to watch: Tzipi Livni.
As Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is in freefall after one too many corruption scandals, the men are circling the wagons to prevent Foreign Minister Livni from gaining the top post. She's one of the most popular politicians in Israel and practically the only potential candidate without the stain of previous scandal, but for her to win, she'll have to get past her own party primary first. How she does will gravely impact the peace process and the future of the U.S. role in the region, too.

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After confused signals last night from the Clinton campaign, Hillary Clinton began her speech to AIPAC today with a magnanimous and clear message--that she will support a President Obama and that he will support Israel. AIPAC sure has lucky timing to hold its convention on the day after the Dem primary winds down. It puts the organization front and center and doubtless will start the blogs and pundits wagging (as I am here...) about the central role of the organization in American politics.

But, that's not the issue. The issue is what about American foreign policy, not what about one organization. And on that score, Senator Obama laid out a vision that will be key to America's revived role in the Mideast region. Both he (and Senator Clinton) made clear that only sustained involvement by the U.S. will create peace in the region. Here's the thing:

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