Obama Takes Refuge In His "Hussein Asylum"

Apparently unable to blame Israel's mistrust of him on either Bush nor his political opponents, Obama has instead taken refuge in blaming his name--his middle name "Hussein".

A more mature response might have been to recognized, at least to some extent, that Obama's own actions might have been disquieting to Israelis.

A short editorial in the New York Posts has a helpful list:

• His public humiliation last March of Bejamin Netanyahu at the White House, when Obama walked out of their talks to go have dinner with his family, leaving Israel's prime minister alone for over an hour, and then refused to release even a photo of their meeting.
  
  
• His disturbing comparison, during that "outreach" speech to the Arab world in Cairo, of the Palestinians' "daily humiliations" and "intolerable" situation to the Nazi Holocaust.
  
  
• His administration's public demand that Israeli leaders "demonstrate not just through words but through specific actions that they are committed to this relationship and to the peace process" -- a demand Sen. Chuck Schumer labeled "terrible" and "counterproductive."
  
  
• His continued push for closer US ties with Syria -- an ally of Iran, state sponsor of terrorism and major backer of both Hamas and Hezbollah.
  
  
• His decision to join the farcical UN Human Rights Council -- which devotes most of its time to denouncing Israel.

But of course, in claiming that his middle name was the source of the problem, Obama was actually just blaming Israelis, hinting at racism.

A cheap shot. And Rep. Peter King called him on it:

President Obama’s statement that Israelis are suspicious of him in part because his middle name is Hussein was a “cheap shot” that belittles Israelis’ real problems with White House policies, said Rep. Pete King.

“That’s a terrible cheap shot,” King (R-L.I.) told The Mouth. “And if he wants to get cute about it, King Hussein of Jordan was one of the best allies Israel ever had.”

...But his middle name “has nothing to do with it,” King said. “The fact is that his policies from day one have had an anti-Israel overtone…. He has no one to blame but himself. He should forget his name — that’s just a cheap game and he should knock it off.”

And no doubt he will.
Until after the mid-term elections.

Technorati Tag: Obama and Hussein.