Bush Cries Alone

From the transcript: "Looking back 60 years later, we've also got to remember the courage of Harry S. Truman. As Israel prepared to declare independence, President Truman faced a tough choice over whether to recognize a new state. The future of Israel hung in the balance. As Chaim Weizmann told the President, he said, 'History and providence have placed this issue in your hands.' And today we know that the forces of Providence could not have chosen a better man than America's 33rd President. (Applause.)

"Eleven minutes after Israel came into existence, the United States became the first nation to recognize its independence. And because Harry Truman did what was right instead of following the conventional wisdom, we can say today that America is Israel's oldest and best friend in the world. (Applause.)"

Bush began his remarks with an acknowledgment that his days as president are numbered (250 as of yesterday): "I think it's a great tribute to this conference, as well as to Israel that some so many heads of state have come. Ex-heads of state and ex-leaders, thanks for being here. Save a seat in the ex-leader's club."

Appeasement and Absolutism

Bush's speech to the Israeli parliament today cast all nuance to the wind. In the worldview he expressed, Israel and the United States are the undisputable heroes in an epic battle between good and evil. He also overtly waded into the campaign to succeed him.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes in the New York Times: "President Bush used a speech to the Israeli Parliament on Thursday to issue a veiled rebuke to Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential contender, who has argued that the United States should negotiate with countries like Iran and Syria.

"Mr. Bush did not mention Mr. Obama by name, and the White House said his remarks were not aimed at the senator. But in a lengthy speech intended to promote the strong alliance between the United States and Israel, the president invoked the emotionally volatile imagery of World War II to make the case that talking to 'terrorists and radicals' was no different than appeasing Hitler and the Nazis."

You don't use Hitler's name lightly in Israel, and here's what Bush had to say: "Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."

Michael Abramowitz writes for The Washington Post: "President Bush invoked the specter of the Holocaust to warn Israeli lawmakers on Thursday afternoon that they must take seriously the incendiary language of extremist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, as he celebrated the state's 60th anniversary by sketching out a more hopeful future of peaceful co-existence between Jews and Arabs.

"On the second day of his Middle East trip, Bush toured the historic Dead Sea fortress Masada before returning here for an emotional address to the Israeli Knesset, where he cited Hamas' call for the 'elimination' of Israel, Hezbollah followers' chants of 'Death to Israel, Death to America' and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's vow to wipe the Jewish state off the map.

"'There are good and decent people who cannot fathom the darkness in these men and try to explain away their words. It is natural,' Bush said. 'But it is deadly wrong. As witnesses to evil in the past, we carry a solemn responsibility to take these words seriously. Jews and Americans have seen the consequences of disregarding the words of leaders who espouse hatred. And that is a mistake the world must not repeat in the 21st century.' . . .

"During the speech, Bush touched only briefly on his goal of achieving an Israel-Palestinian peace deal before the end of his term next January. Looking forward to the 120th anniversary of Israel, Bush said, 'The Palestinian people will have the homeland they have long dreamed of and deserved -- a democratic state that is governed by law, and respects human rights, and rejects terror.'"

Bush seemed to indicate, yet again, that he doesn't intend to leave office with Iran still a potential nuclear threat: "Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapons would be an unforgivable betrayal for future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," he said.