The Kibitzer-in-Chief
Obama in Israel: The presidential tourist
By Dana Milbank, WashPost, Published: March 22
In Israel this week, President Obama was quite the kibitzer.
He kibitzed — Yiddish for offering unsolicited chatter, jokes or advice — about the stripes on the tarmac at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. He kibitzed about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s family and about being a lefty. He kibitzed about the weather and gardening. He kibitzed about the health of Israeli President Shimon Peres, a mechanical snake, a chandelier and the relative troubles presented by Congress and the Knesset.
He even kibitzed on a visit to Yitzhak Rabin’s grave Friday, as overheard by reporters in the White House press pool: “Bibi arranged for perfect weather . . . Shimon plied me with wine . . . [Rabin] had a great speaking voice. . . . I can sing. They had me sing on YouTube.”
Obama didn’t accomplish much of substance: no obvious progress toward talks with the Palestinians, no new ground in deterring Iran’s nuclear program or Syria’s chemical weapons. But the Israelis, who had been suspicious of Obama’s commitment to the Jewish state, were delighted by the attention. “He had us at Shalom,” was the headline on an analysis in the Jerusalem Post.
The trip was so successful that it could provide Obama with a road map (to use the moribund term from peace talks) for success in his second term in areas beyond the region. Call it the triumph of low expectations: When your goals are less ambitious, they are easier to meet.
(More here.)
In Israel this week, President Obama was quite the kibitzer.
He kibitzed — Yiddish for offering unsolicited chatter, jokes or advice — about the stripes on the tarmac at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. He kibitzed about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s family and about being a lefty. He kibitzed about the weather and gardening. He kibitzed about the health of Israeli President Shimon Peres, a mechanical snake, a chandelier and the relative troubles presented by Congress and the Knesset.
He even kibitzed on a visit to Yitzhak Rabin’s grave Friday, as overheard by reporters in the White House press pool: “Bibi arranged for perfect weather . . . Shimon plied me with wine . . . [Rabin] had a great speaking voice. . . . I can sing. They had me sing on YouTube.”
Obama didn’t accomplish much of substance: no obvious progress toward talks with the Palestinians, no new ground in deterring Iran’s nuclear program or Syria’s chemical weapons. But the Israelis, who had been suspicious of Obama’s commitment to the Jewish state, were delighted by the attention. “He had us at Shalom,” was the headline on an analysis in the Jerusalem Post.
The trip was so successful that it could provide Obama with a road map (to use the moribund term from peace talks) for success in his second term in areas beyond the region. Call it the triumph of low expectations: When your goals are less ambitious, they are easier to meet.
(More here.)
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