Given that the State of the Union is the worst political ritual evuh – to say nothing of tonight’s likely content – we figure you’ll be wanting an alternative about 30 minutes after Jesus Cicero starts talking. Ergo tonight’s episode of One Jerusalem Radio’s TOCS, which will be kicking off at exactly 6:30pm PST / 9:30 EST. You can tune in live to call in, participate in the chat room, or just listen.
The only caveat is that I’ll be playing my own version of the SOTU drinking game for the half-hour before the show, where instead of looking for specific phrases like “let me be clear” or “make no mistake” I just take a shot whenever Obama is obnoxiously condescending. Odds of tonight’s show happening at all: middling.
More seriously, segments in the queue: health care, the administration’s latest Iran spin, and whatever had happened in the SOTU as of 6:30pm. The WH just sent out an email preview, promising that Obama will detail – among other things – how he has “restored America’s alliances and standing in the world… [and] restored our standing and leadership around the world.” Since that’s the opposite of true in Latin America and Britain and Eastern Europe and China and Russia and Israel and Japan, I’m really interested to know what he’s going to say.
Dan Diker will join the show, as he always does, to lend a note of actual expertise. This week he’ll be talking about Fatah/Hamas tensions, which have now reached the point where the PA is asking the EU not to engage their Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza. On the international stage Hamas is playing the old game where they say one thing to the West and then another in Arabic. Meanwhile there are signs that Fatah is playing an even more brazen double-game, accepting US security assistance while seeking rapprochement with Iran. Dan picks those controversies apart, explaining what’s going on beneath the surface across various Palestinian factions and sub-factions.
References and related after the jump…
References:
* Our Worst Political Ritual [Williamson / NRO]
* State Of Failure [TOCS]
* Obama: Screw Our Latin American Allies, Let’s Cozy Up To Cuba [MR]
* Four Theories Why Obama Is Throwing Britain Under The Bus [MR]
* East European Anti-Communist Crusaders Beg Obama: Please Don’t Sell Us Out To Russia Again [MR]
* How China Stiffed the World in Copenhagen [FP]
* Great News: New Russian War Fighting Doctrine Expands Reasons To Deploy Troops [MR]
* Flashback: Candidate Obama Promises Not To Cut Aid To Israel If Elected | Mere Rhetoric [MR]
* Great News: Obama’s “Allies Last” Strategy Setting Up A Geopolitical Train Wreck With Japan [MR]
* PA warns EU against legitimizing Hamas through dialogue [JPost]
* Official Fatah Website drops all material from Iranian sources opposing the regime [IMRA]
Related Mere Rhetoric Categories:
* TOCS
* American Politics
* Foreign Policy Experts
