Will Sarkozy Now Allow Obama To Play Role Of Israel's Friend To The Hilt?

Yesterday, the UN was supposed to be the stage with Abbas as the star, playing out the drama towards the recognition of a Palestinian state.
But along the way, it looks like there may be another drama unfolding.

Sarkozy is making Obama look pro-Israel:

A last-ditch U.S. effort to head off a Palestinian bid for U.N. membership faltered. President Barack Obama tried to qualify his own call, just a year ago, for a Palestinian state. And French President Nicolas Sarkozy stepped forcefully into the void, with a proposal that pointedly repudiated Obama’s approach.


The extraordinary tableau Wednesday at the United Nations underscored a stark new reality: The United States is facing the prospect of having to share, or even cede, its decades-long role as the architect of Middle East peacemaking.

I don't know if Obama minds allowing someone else to handle the hot potato that is Middle East peace. I imagine Obama minds even less if in the process he looks good to American Jewish voters.

The Washington Post describes the apparent sudden divide between Obama and Sarkozy on the Middle East:

His remarks Wednesday also exposed differences with traditional European allies over the Israeli-Palestinian issue. French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged the General Assembly to grant the Palestinians non-member observer status, a move that Obama has not endorsed and that the Israelis oppose. Sarkozy called for new negotiations to begin within a month and for the General Assembly to set a one-year deadline for the talks to yield an agreement.

“Sixty years without moving one inch forward — doesn’t it seem like time to do something new?” said Sarkozy, who devoted his entire address to the issue.

Sarkozy seems to have taken over the theme with which Obama started his term in office: time for something new in Middle East negotiations!

When may we expect Sarkozy to pressure Israel on the 'settlements'?
Or can we expect Sarkozy to give equal time to the regular incitement of hatred against Israel, or the fact that Israel is supposed to negotiate with a man whose term in office ended 2 years ago?

The important thing for Obama is that now he is off the hook.

I suppose that 'leading from behind' has something to it after all.
After all, according to polls, Obama seems to be campaigning from behind in the polls.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Palestine and Obama and Sarkozy.