Benjamin Netanyahu -- The leader Obama can never be

By Peter Lemiska

Benjamin Netanyahu's impassioned speech before the joint session of Congress accomplished what Barack Obama would not, and could not do. He eloquently laid out Iran's murderous nature, its determined quest for nuclear weapons, and the absolute need to stop it. Absent were the idealistic hopes and self-serving promises of a politician. There were no false assurances, only hard-nosed, honest analysis by a true leader deeply concerned about the very survival of his country.

Both men claim to have the same goal, but offer different views on the negotiations. Netanyahu tells us that the so-called monitoring provisions in the proposed plan would be ineffective. Worse yet, he cautions that the agreement under discussion contains a "sunset" provision that ends all monitoring after 10 years, allowing unconstrained production of nuclear weapons by Iran. On the other side, Obama, again keeping crucial details from Congress and the people, assures us that he has the situation under control. He tells us there are adequate inspection provisions that would alert us to violations of the treaty, yet he offers no remedy for that eventuality. He tells us there is no sunset provision in the agreement, implying what? For how long would Iran be subject to inspections? On the surface, Obama's assurances seem questionable at best.

With diametrically opposing perspectives, do we trust Obama or Netanyahu?

As eloquent and convincing was his address, most Americans know little about Prime Minister Netanyahu or his personal integrity.

But we know Obama. He is the man who repeatedly assured Americans that Obamacare would not strip them of their doctor or their health care plan. He promised that it would lower premiums by $2500 for middle-income families. He is the one who rightly stated more than 20 times that he had no authority to bestow amnesty on millions of illegal aliens, and then did precisely that, now arguing that it is within his legal authority. He is the man who, according to former advisor, David Axelrod, deliberately deceived the voters in 2008 by falsely declaring his personal opposition to same-sex marriage. Perhaps it was a twinge of guilt that compelled him to confide to Axelrod back then, "I'm just not very good at BSing." Clearly, since then, he's gotten the hang of it.

He showed that again with regard to Iran. In a 2008 speech to AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee), Obama declared, "The danger from Iran is grave, it is real, and my goal will be to eliminate this threat.... let there be no doubt: I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally Israel." It was an often-repeated promise. His words then were actually stronger than those of Netanyahu, who is only calling for serious negotiations that would finally end the threat to his country and the world.

Like so many spoiled brats, a handful of Obama loyalists boycotted Netanyahu's address. Immediately following the speech, they took turns before a microphone insulting the Prime Minister and denigrating his speech. Ironically they likened him to a small child who wants everything – in this case, a perfect deal. That was a patent lie. Throughout his address, Netanyahu called for "A better deal that Israel and its neighbors may not like, but with which we could live, literally."

Worse, they accused him of fear-mongering. This Prime Minister has fought and bled for his country. He knows something about the dangers confronting Israel, our ally. His people have faced near annihilation once before, and they live in constant fear today. If those Democrats were living within striking distance of a despot who threatened to destroy them, and who was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon to achieve that end, they might not be so dismissive.

Sadly, among those Democrats, was Jewish Rep. John Yarmuth, of Kentucky. In January last year, Yarmuth said, "...I'm a strong supporter of Israel, but my first obligation is to the Constitution of the United States, not to the Constitution of Israel."

Maybe he should look over our First Amendment again – the one that provides for free speech and open debate. His real loyalty seems to be to the Democratic Party and to Barack Obama. Statistically, he votes with his party some 95 percent of the time.

That loyalty is pitifully misguided. Over the years, Obama's entire administration has displayed a clear distain for Israel's Prime Minister. Obama's anti-Israeli policies suggest that it extends to the Israeli people. Is that any surprise? As a Muslim student, young Barack was certainly never taught to embrace the Jewish people. Nor did he learn that from his long-time mentor Jeremiah "Them Jews ain't going to let him talk to me" Wright. And Obama has always surrounded himself with like-minded people. His first choice for Secretary of State has shown some biases of her own. Years earlier, it was widely reported that Hillary Clinton more than once used particularly vulgar anti-Semitic slurs while her husband campaigned for Governor of Arkansas. While the left is quick to level baseless charges of racism at Obama's critics, there is a palpable undercurrent of anti-Semitism within his administration.

But Yarmuth and those few petulant Democrats don't seem to care. Unfortunately, they missed an opportunity to join America as we watched a courageous leader standing up for his country. It was both inspirational and refreshing.

© Peter Lemiska