Obama Must Be Joking

He now claims that no one is better than him on the subject of Israel.

Sorry, give me a few minutes to stop laughing over that.

That's downright funny because Obama's foreign policy guys are all former Carter guys - who would sell Israel down the river at every opportunity - just as Carter is doing right now.

And I really think that it's laughable that Obama thinks there's no one better on Israel. I can think of at least one US senator who is better. Joe Lieberman.

Another? Arlen Specter (he supports Aish HaTorah's Jerusalem Fellowships, which is designed to help Jews reconnect with the spiritual and intellectual roots of Judaism with an intense two-week visit to Jerusalem and Israeli cities) and has been a strong supporter of Israel [ed: I went on this program in 1993 when it was offered as a 6-week course, and it was one of the best experiences of my life.].

So, he's no better than third, and that's just off the top of my head. However, as I note above, that he's surrounded himself with former Carter policy wonks leads me to believe that he's not only awful on Israel, but awful on foreign policy in general. After all, he'd have no problem with his foreign policy people meeting with terrorists to discuss terms.

As Hot Air notes, where are the votes that Obama can point to that support his contention? Also, AIPAC doesn't have a rating system for ranking candidates, so claiming that he's gotten a top rating doesn't wash either. His people are also trying to start up a rival Israel-centric PAC, that would focus blame on the lack of peace between Israel and the Palestinians on Israel (and that's based on who is currently involved in that effort).

UPDATE:
The exact quote can be found via the Pittsburgh Gazette:

On other issues during his conversation with the Post-Gazette editors, Mr. Obama defended his record on Israel, said the fall of the dollar signaled long-term challenges for the economy, and said that if he were elected, the choice of schools for his young daughters would be a personal decision.

"Let's be clear, there has been a really systematic effort to suggest that I'm not sufficiently pro-Israel,'' he said. "The fact that my middle name is Hussein, I'm sure, does not help in that regard ... Again some of this dates back to the '60s between the African-American and the Jewish community as a consequence of [Louis] Farrakhan. There was flap about some of Jesse Jackson's statements during his presidential race, so I inherit all this baggage."

While repeating an earlier statement that he disagreed with former President Jimmy Carter's decision to meet with representatives of the Palestinian group Hamas during his current trip to the Middle East, Mr. Obama said, "The fact is, though, that no one's been a more stalwart ally of Israel.... My support of Israel is as strong as Sen. Clinton or [Sen. John] McCain.

The flap relating to Jesse Jackson stems from the fact that he called New York City Hymietown - a derogatory slur against Jews. Farrakhan has repeatedly made anti-Semitic statements, and yet Obama associated with the likes of both men.

You can argue that the last sentence of the aforementioned quote is an attempt to walk back from his earlier statement that no one is a stronger ally of Israel, but the fact is that he clearly thinks that he's the most pro-Israel of the bunch.

UPDATE:
Pandering? That's my take.

UPDATE:
And here's the flip-flop. Some time between Carter's meeting with Hamas and Obama realizing that Carter's meeting with Hamas and other terrorists might harm his campaign, did he finally distance himself from Carter.