Obama Gaffes Go Rollin' Along

By Richard N. Weltz

Once again, Barack Obama has demonstrated serious gaps in actual knowledge of the subjects on which he so charmingly pontificates.

The Democratic candidate, who prior to the past years or so, seems never to have had a problem with friends who didn't like Israel, stood up before a meeting of the America-Israel Public Action Committee (AIPAC) yesterday in Washington, DC, and spoke every pro-Israel platitude he judged that the crowd wanted to hear.

Pretty comprehensive list of promises to defend, protect, and love the Jewish State in every way. Oh, but someplace in the middle, he made this curious statement, as reported in the New York Sun:

"Let me be clear," Senator Obama told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. "Israel's security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable. The Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive, and that allows them to prosper."

That statement, although not, included in the reportorial account of his speech in the New York Times, nor, as revealed by a brief news search on Yahoo, is, however confirmed in the actual transcripts of the Obama speech posted by such venues as National Public Radio, the Chicago Sun-Times, and others.

Read that promise again: "The Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive." While cooking up his potful of platitudes and promises, did Obama or his writers even bother to take a look at a map of the region? Does he or they have the faintest idea of such simple facts as those called "Gaza" and "West Bank" - or understand that the PA considers both very non-contiguous territories part of a prospective Palestinian state (and, for that matter, so does Israel)?

Small wonder that, also as reported in the NY Sun article,

"The president of the Zionist Organization of America, Morton Klein, said,
"Clearly, if you knew nothing about Barack Obama, you would come away from this speech thinking he is clearly a friend of Israel." But Mr. Klein added that he could not reconcile Wednesday's speech with the views of some of Mr. Obama's advisers and the fact that he attended the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago while the Reverend Jeremiah Wright was the pastor.

Words are cheap and ethereal. One can only hope that Jewish voters will put more credence in the long record of Barack Obama in befriending and taking spiritual and political guidance from so many avowed enemies of Israel.

And, as for the fawning media, so patently in the tank for the Obama candidacy, one wonders how many will, if ever, pick up on this ludicrous revelation of the insincerity of his promises regarding Israel and his lack of understanding of the issues involved. Don't hold your breath.