MSM Startled That "Post-Partisan" "No-Drama" Candidate Choose Well-Noted Partisan Attack Dog As Chief Of Staff (Plus: Emanuel's Pro-Israel Influence Somewhat Underwhelming)
Michelle Obama out and out called Palin an idiot, a theme that her husband's Hollywood and NY supporters enthusiastically took up in between fantasizing about repeatedly slamming Palin to the ground and having her gang raped. Obama himself had audiences chuckling over incisive crackups involving Palin, lipstick, and a pig. The entire campaign's open anti-Palin viciousness had already reached surreal levels even before the national press corps spent a week obsessing about her wardrobe.
When Obama's surrogates weren't spreading vicious lies in international media outlets they were collapsing into affected histrionics at the mere hint of criticism. Obama divided his own time between instructing his digital brownshirts to "get in the faces" of political opponents and being emotionally overwhelmed by McCain's lack of decency. And that's before we even get to his vicious disciples.
So spare me:
His first choice, for White House chief of staff, was Rahm Emanuel, a fiery partisan unafraid of breaking glass and hurting feelings. The choice of Emanuel is a significant departure from the soft-spoken, low-key aides that "No-Drama Obama" surrounded himself with during the campaign. And transition chief John Podesta, like Emanuel, is a former top aide to President Clinton and a tough partisan infighter, though less bombastic than the new chief of staff. The selections are telling for Obama, who campaigned as a nontraditional, almost "post-partisan" newcomer. People close to him say the selections show he is aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and knows what he needs to be successful as he shifts from campaigning to governing.
Oh, but have you heard he speaks broken Hebrew? Whatever. When Rahm Emanuel's loyalties are tested, he's an enemy-destroying Democrat first and a supporter of the US-Israel alliance second. Which is fine - loyalty to parties is built into our antagonistic electoral system and usually more or less works out. Except I was told that Obama would be a strong voice for bipartisanship on Israel. Wasn't that Alan Dershowitz's entire point?
And isn't there something... predictably desperate... about Jewish Democrats clinging to the Emanuel choice as some kind of vindication? If he's having such a huge pro-Israel counter-influence, why does the list of Obama's potential Secretaries of States look like this:
For those of us eager for any scraps of news about top posts in the Obama administration, Helene Cooper has the latest Washington gossip. As Cooper notes, "mentioning someone for a top job usually guarantees that they won't get it." A further caveat is that those who know, don't talk, and those who talk, don't know. With that, Cooper's lists:... Secretary of State: John Kerry, Richard Holbrooke, Bill Richardson, Gen. James L. Jones
Or, alternatively, the guy who wanted to send James Baker and Jimmy Carter to coerce Israel, the guy who thinks that the solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict is to "put more pressure on Israel", another guy who wants to send Jimmy Carter to coerce Israel and who thinks that Ahmadinejad is nothing to worry about, and a State Department lackey whose current job description is roughly "create a paper trail to screw Israel."
When the Obama White House does turn out to be hostile to the US-Israel relationship - when adviser after adviser blames Israel for Middle East instability until Obama either successfully coerces or publicly breaks with Israel - do you think that ostensibly pro-Israel American Jews will stop wallowing in obnoxiously bad arguments? Or do you think that the NJDC still has plenty of juice left?
References:
* Michelle Obama on VP: “What you learn about Barack from his choice is that he’s not afraid of smart people”
* Moronic Hollywood Nutjob: Palin Too Stupid To Understand The "Complicated Dialogue" In "W" [MR]
* Charming GOTV Videos: Commercial Icon Repeatedly Slams Palin Into The Ground (Plus: Severe PDS In San Fran Preventing Yuppies From Indulging In Effete Wine) [MR]
* Pro-Obama Comedian Jokes About Black Men Gang-Raping Palin, Liberal Outrage Fails To Ensue (Plus: Brief Review Of Other Conservatives Whom Progressives Would Like To See Get Raped) (UPDATE: Nuance Invoked, Video Added) [MR]
* ABC News: McCain "Falsely Accusing" Obama Of Doing Exactly What The Crowd Who Heard His "Pig" Comment Thought He Was Doing (UPDATED: Ben Smith Wasn't In The Room, Rhetorical Sophistication Invoked!) [MR]
* The Paranoid Style in The Left's Anti-Palin Viciousness [MR]
* AP Headline: "Palin Adds To Wardrobe Before Reno Campaign Stop" [MR]
* New Palin Smear: She Supports Hamas (Plus: Obama's Anti-Israel FP Sensibility, Support From Hamas) [MR]
* Pro-Obama Jewish Group's Anti-RJC Smears Are Asinine, False [MR]
* Farrakhan: Obama Is "A Herald Of The Messiah... A Savior" (Plus: Obama's Followers Attacking Conservatives, Fantasizing About Shooting Palin) [MR]
* * Obama's Digital Brownshirts Turned Loose On Barbara West [MR]
* Obama meets with economic experts for advice [AP]
* Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s pick for Chief of Staff, is tough, direct and wedded to his Jewish roots [Jewish Journal]
* The five most infamous Rahm Emanuel moments [FP Passport]
* Rahm Emanuel: 'between a hemorrhoid and a toothache' [Solomonia]
* Double Standard Watch: Why I support Israel and Obama [Dershowitz / JPost]
* 70 Percent Of American Jews Ready To Say "We Didn't Know" When Obama Detonates US-Israel Alliance (Plus: They Most Definitely Know) [MR]
* Scuttlebutt update [FP Passport]
* That Settles That [MR]
* That Depends On What Your Definition of "Safe" Is [MR]
* Democrat Bill Richardson: James Baker Should Be The US's Envoy To Israel [MR]
* Bill Richardson: Ahmadinejad Is Nothing To Worry About, We Should Engage Iran [MR]
* State Department: How About An Unbiased, Totally Objective International Force In The West Bank? [MR]
* NJDC: Biden Is Pro-Israel Because... Umm... Err... Because He Just Is OK? [MR]
Previously:
* Breathtakingly Stupid VP Candidate Very Lucky The Media's In The Tank For Obama
* Social Science, Basic Reasoning: Anti-Palin McCain Staffers And Journalists Are Sexist Morons (Plus: Bloggers Launch Operation Leper To Make Them Famous)
* Sky News On New POW Footage: McCain's Heroism "Tarnished" Because He Was Smoking
