Obama Gives the Green Light

Initially, I was appalled that Hillary Clinton had to apologize in any way for her RFK remark. Then I check out Carol Moore's blog, and she predicts that if Obama is elected, he'll be taken out by Mossad, and that Hillary's statement was a "leak" of the plan (or a threat?). Oh, and they'll probably frame Muslims or Arabs.

(That would be the ultimate I Told You So: "See? See? Obama was soft on terror, and then killed by terrorists! It just goes to show you can't negotiate with these thugs . . .")

So what does Obama do once he wraps up the nomination? He kisses up to the Israel Lobby, and says, "I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Everything in my power. Everything."

There are ways to interpret this:

a) Obama doesn't want war with Iran, but understands that the beginning of negotiations means a tough, firm starting position. This is the weakness of non-interventionist candidates. While I support non-interventionism, it's a tough sell to suddenly break-off ties with long-time allies like Israel. Not that Obama is a non-interventionist, but hopefully, he's a realist who neither wants to concede to Iran nor go to war. This is the most optimistic interpretation.
b) Obama doesn't want war with Iran, but is soliciting support from pro-Israel voters. This, of course, is the ethical equivalent of running as a segregationist with the intention of becoming a moderate reformer once in office. Even if the false promise would be terrible, it's still a false promise. It's lying.
c) Like Carol Moore is suggesting, Obama really does have a gun pointed at his head, and he knows it. He's doing what he can to avert a terrible fate.

Most likely, however . . .

d) Obama really would nuke Iran and essentially gave the green light for Bush to start the war.

No matter the reasons, Obama's AIPAC speech removed any remaining temptation to vote for him. As I wrote last week, Obama sounds better than McCain, but for all we know he could be much worse. I'm sticking with Bob Barr.