Nancy Pelosi Queen Of Exaggeration
Despite her recent fall from power when the Republican Party regained control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 mid-term elections, Nancy Pelosi has continued her role as Obama’s top cheerleader and Exaggerator in Chief. We all remember her angry stare, when she falsely claimed that she had never been briefed about the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques. We all were stunned by her ignorant claim that the Catholic Church’s position on human life only developed in the last 50 years, when she defended the President’s demand that Catholic institutions fund birth control and abortion.
Former Speaker Of The House Pelosi was recently interviewed by Al Hunt, the executive Washington editor for Bloomberg News, on the subject of President Obama and his support for Israel. During the conversation, Ms. Pelosi tried to imply that the President supports Israel because “he has been there [Israel] over and over again.” Even if you ignore the fact that she is exaggerating the truth, why would anyone assume that Obama’s political tourism means he “has Israel’s back.”
Once again, her desire to shill for Obama took precedence over reality. The truth is that since he has been President, Obama has never visited Israel, despite the fact that he was right next door in Egypt on one of his many trips and vacations.
Before Obama was elected to the Presidency, he visited Israel twice and both trips were paid for by someone else. On one trip, he went to Israel with a group of freshman Senators, funded by the taxpayer. His other visit to Israel was made during his 2008 presidential run and paid for by his campaign.
Two free trips to Israel is not “over and over.” Obama has never visited Israel on his own dime. He visited Israel as a politician seeking to win the financial support of rich Jewish donors and to attract the all important Jewish vote. Despite Mr. Obama’s history of traveling to many distant and exotic destinations, he has never shown any interest in visiting Israel, unless it would benefit his political ambitions.
In a column posted today, July 30, 2012, Conservative Byte, a widely read conservative blog, covered the story under the headline, “Pelosi Spews Whopper.” The author wondered if Ms.Pelosi was trying to convince voters that Obama had visited Israel as President. Giving Pelosi the benefit of the doubt, it would be difficult to reach that conclusion based only on her comments in the interview. However, Mr Obama certainly has not visited Israel “over and over” and for that Ms. Pelosi gets “3.5 Pinocchios,” as the Washington Post is so fond of saying.
On Sunday, Mitt Romney was quite outspoken when he said that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Mr. Hunt should have asked Ms. Pelosi to explain why Mr. Obama said on July 4, 2008, “Any negotiated agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority must preserve Israel’s identity as a Jewish state with secure, recognized, defensible borders. And Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided.” Since he became President, Obama has completely changed his position. He now says that the status of Jerusalem must be decided in final negotiations and he has refused to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The people of Israel are living on the front lines of a conflict that has been going on for decades. Israelis and Palestinians are dying every day. They deserve better than exaggeration and hyperbole designed to attract votes back home in America. We can only wait and see if Romney meant what he said yesterday when he stated that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel. Whether he was being truthful or he is just playing politics, remains to be seen. One thing is sure. American leaders need to stop using Israel to convince people to vote for them and start speaking honestly about their plans to resolve one of the world’s most pressing problems.
