Palin Responds To Rally Kerfuffle

Yesterday, I wrote about the absolute stupidity of all those involved in the mess that saw Sen. Hillary Clinton withdraw from attending a rally supporting Israel and opposing Iran in New York City to coincide with the United Nations General Assembly opening session.

Clinton could have made a very diplomatic statement claiming that she was withdrawing to keep the focus on the issue of supporting Israel and opposing Iran rather than the politics of having Gov. Sarah Palin attending at the same time Hillary was there.

Clinton did no such thing. She made a huge stink about it.

Don't think for a moment that it wasn't planned. I question her commitment and support to Israel, but this was done with multiple motives in mind, not the least of which was to make life harder for the Obama campaign, not easier.

Today, Palin has responded. And she's right - this is an issue that should unite people against the evils perpetrated by Iran against its own citizens, the ongoing threats to its neighbors, and the terrorists it uses by proxy, including Hizbullah and Hamas. That the Democrats have decided to make a fuss over her presence shows that their intentions towards Israel are less than honorable and are purely political in nature. They should be welcoming everyone to support Israel against a totalitarian regime that repeatedly calls for Israel's destruction.

Moreover, how exactly is Hillary's presence at this event nonpartisan, but the moment a Republican like Palin shows up, it becomes partisan. It's a good question that has no satisfactory answer unless you like your politics served up with a heaping pile of hypocrisy.

UPDATE:
Gothamist has some reaction from NYC area politicans:

City Councilman Dov Hikind who said, "This is insulting. This is embarrassing, especially to Gov. Palin, to me and I think it should be to every single New Yorker." Last night, at the State of Israel Bonds dinner where Clinton said, "We cannot, we should not, we must not permit Iran to build or acquire nuclear weapons," the Observer found Iranian Jews split over her decision to skip the rally. And Representative Anthony Weiner weighed in, too, "I don’t believe this was a grand conspiracy. It was a complete mess by the organizers. It got too political. The casualty here? Me.

Hikind and Weiner are both Democrats. Hikind is a strong supporter of Israel, and he's clearly peeved about this mess and how this should be an issue on which people can unite against a common foe. Weiner? He's more interested in his own self interest and that someone decided to stick a camera in front of him.