Following up on an earlier item, the president spoke to the Israeli Knesset this morning, and instead of using the occasion to honor the 60th anniversary of the birth of Israel, Bush took ugly and cheap shots at Barack Obama and Democrats, equating their foreign policy with Nazi appeasement.
The response has been swift. John Kerry called Bush’s remarks part of a “disgusting and dangerous political game.” Joe Biden said, “This is bullshit. This is malarkey. This is outrageous. Outrageous for the president of the United States to go to a foreign country, sit in the Knesset…and make this kind of ridiculous statement,” before adding that Bush’s Secretary of State and Defense Secretary seem to agree with the Dems on this.
Speaker Pelosi said, “I think what the President did in that regard was beneath the dignity of the office of the president and unworthy of our representation at that observance in Israel. And I would hope that any serious person would disassociate himself from the President’s remarks who aspires to leadership in our country.”
Howard Dean challenged Bush’s would-be Republican successor: “On the same day John McCain is talking about putting partisanship aside, the President launched a cheap political attack while on a state visit honoring the 60th anniversary of Israel, one of America’s greatest allies…. If John McCain is really serious about being a different kind of Republican, he’ll denounce these remarks in the strongest terms possible.”
Demonstrating the kind of craven, cowardly politics he claims to abhor, McCain did the opposite.
Senator John McCain, who has been critical of President Bush on the environment and other policies this week, on Thursday morning wholeheartedly endorsed Mr. Bush’s veiled rebuke in the Israeli Knesset on Senator Barack Obama that talking to “terrorists and radicals” was no different than appeasing Hitler and the Nazis. […]
Asked if he thought Mr. Obama was an appeaser — the Democratic candidate has said he would be willing to meet with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran — Mr. McCain sidestepped and said, “I think that Barack Obama needs to explain why he wants to sit down and talk with a man who is the head of a government that is a state sponsor of terrorism, that is responsible for the killing of brave young Americans, that wants to wipe Israel off the map, who denies the Holocaust. That’s what I think Senator Obama ought to explain to the American people.”
It’s only May, McCain is slipping further and further into the gutter. It’s nothing short of disgraceful.
It’s hard to overstate how pathetic Bush’s and McCain’s conduct is on this. It’s treacherous political slander at its most obvious. If, eight years ago, Bill Clinton traveled to foreign soil to take cheap and ridiculous shots at the Republican nominee during the presidential campaign, the right would be apoplectic. If Al Gore had quickly endorsed Clinton’s attacks, we would never hear the end of it. And yet, that’s exactly the dynamic we see playing out this morning.
I should note that there are a few competing angles to a story like this.
First, there are basic American patriotic norms. U.S. leaders are honor-bound not to travel to foreign soil to attack other U.S. leaders. It’s simply an un-American thing to do, and this is a tradition both parties have respected for generations. Bush has blown it off, and McCain couldn’t be more pleased. It’s contemptuous.
Second, there’s reality. Bush, following McCain’s misguided worldview, has managed to make Iran stronger. If Ahmadinejad is Hitler — the comparison itself is mind-numbing — Bush is the ultimate appeaser, ensuring that the enemy is better off than before. As for the notion that talking to our enemies is inherently dangerous, can we assume Bush and McCain are also prepared to denounce Reagan for his diplomatic outreach and discussion with the Evil Empire during the Cold War? Will they also denounce Bob Gates and Condolleezza Rice?
And third, as literally nauseating as Bush’s and McCain’s conduct has been this morning, the politics almost certainly play in Obama’s favor. Christopher Orr’s take is spot-on:
I’m struck by how politically foolish this assault appears to be. Bush attacking Obama, and Obama counter-attacking Bush, while John McCain sits on the sidelines, is a disastrous dynamic for the GOP. The more Obama can frame this race as him vs. the most unpopular president in modern history, the easier a time he’ll have in the fall.
Chris wrote that this morning, before McCain got off the sidelines, and suited up to bolster Bush’s slander. This, of course, makes the dynamic worse: it’s Obama vs. Bush/McCain, on a policy in which most Americans think Obama’s right.
I’m disgusted by Bush’s borderline-treasonous conduct, but I suppose Dems should at least be mildly thankful for the political gift.
Post Script: Joe Lieberman, taking on the role of McCain’s Mini-Me, got in on the fun, issuing a statement insisting, “President Bush got it exactly right today.” How sadly predictable.