"I said, ‘Get me President Bush on the phone,' " Mr. Olmert said in a speech in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, according to The Associated Press. "They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn’t care: 'I need to talk to him now,' " Mr. Olmert continued. 'He got off the podium and spoke to me."
Fascinating. I'm picturing the reaction from our "conservative" friends, as well as Very Serious Media Figures, were any other foreign head of state besides that of Israel to ever make such a boast about the President of the United States of America, particularly were that president a Democratic one. Why, not even all the free clip-art animated stomping gnomes on any of the Infinite Internets could ever even approximately illustrate the Righteous Patriotic Fury that would be unleashed!
Rob says that this bragging might present a bit of a PR problem for Olmert; "I rather think, though, that the Israel lobby (such that it is) acts more effectively for Israel's interest when people pretend publicly that it doesn't exist." But that's precisely what's interesting to me about the comment. The fact that this isn't the cable news outrage du jour is not really all that unexpected. But, more subtly, the fact that Olmert had to say out loud what usually just goes without saying shows a bit of stress, a hint of tension. Israel oviously gets a lot out of its current relationship with America, but that this relationship ought to be seen as rather peculiar from an American perspective, to say the least, usually goes unmentioned. That Olmert mentioned it shows that he's quite worried about his position. That's pretty much the only reason a politician ever risks telling the truth.
On another note, I've always though it was un-American for Americans to go arround parroting the proaganda of the American government, as our "war-blogger" pals liked to do. That these same mega-patriots -- as well as Village insiders and Serious Political Figures -- are also eager to dish out propaganda for a foreign government has always been a rather freakish and degrading spectacle, though, of course, it is not within the bounds of Civil Discourse to point this out.
