What was the reason?

The furious reaction to the call by president Obama for Israel to negotiate a Palestinian state based upon the 1967 lines is not surprising. No one in his right mind would expect the Israelis to go back to borders which cannot be defended. Nor is there any reason for the Israelis to go beyond what the UN Security council determined in Resolution 242 passed after the Six Day War. Israel can certainly be asked to give up land for a Palestinian state so long as that Palestinian state is not devoted to the destruction of Israel. There can be negotiation about the size and shape of the state once the arabs give up their goal of destroying Israel. Indeed, in 1999, the Israelis offered Yassir Arafat close to the entire West Bank and Gaza for a state and even offered to let the Palestinians control the key Muslim sites in Jerusalem. Arafat, of course, refused the offer and launched a terror campaign instead.

Nothing that I just wrote is unknown to Obama or his advisors. They had to know that his statement would anger the Israelis. They had to know that the speech would lead to Prime Minister Netanyahu explaining why the president's demand was untenable. They had to know that the rest of Obama's speech would be lost in the shuffle once the issue of Israel's future borders was injected into the mix. They had to know that giving the speech would actually work against the possibility of peace; after all, the Palestinians can hardly now ask for less than the 1967 borders since Obama has already said he is for those borders.

So the question remains, what was the reason for the president's statements on the border? There are a few possibilities: First, the president and his advisors are inept and did not know what the likely response would be. Second, the president suffers from hubris and believes that if he makes demands in a speech, the entire world, including Israel, will tremble and submit. Third, the president is trying to take the focus off of Syria and Assad killing his own people so that the pressure for US involvement in that country will abate. Fourth, the president is trying to make friends with the Muslim Brotherhood and others in the arab street. Fifth, the presidnt is trying to oust Netanyahu from office by embarrassing him. Sixth, the president was angry that prime minister Netanyahu was invited to address Congress so Obama was trying to upstage that appearance. Last, under the president's ideology, Israel is an oppressor of the poor downtrodden Palestinian people and Obama was doing what he could to help those poor souls.

While this may seem strange, I believe that the second reason is actually what is occuring. Obama is totally self absorbed. Every time he speaks, it is about Obama more than about the USA. Just look at his speeches about how the Seals got Osama bin Laden. To hear Obama, he did everything but fly the helicopter that put the seal team into the bin Laden compound. Beyond this, Obama clearly thinks that if he says something, it will surely come to pass. Remember this gem: "If you like the plan and the doctor you have now, you can keep it under my plan!" How many times did we hear Obama repeat this even though it clearly is not true. Was he just lying to the American people? Or, is it possible that Obama thought that if he said it often enough, it would become correct?

The problem faced by America today is that we have a president who seems to believe that he has supernatural powers. He does not, of course, Indeed, if Obama has a super power, it seems to be super incompetence. Think of how he handled the gulf oil spill. Think of how long he took to decide on how to proceed in Afghanistan. Think of how he let Pelosi and Reir write his stimulus bill and turn it into a payoff to Democrat constituent groups rather than a method to help jump start the economy. Think of the way he closed Guantanamo (oh wait, he didn't). There's a lot more, but you get the picture by now.

I truly hope that there is some subtle and thoughtful reason why Obama chose to blow up any remaining chances for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and to destroy whatever trust remained between his administration and the Israelis. If that reason exists, however, it is way too subtle for me to see it. Sadly, I believe that the president is more delusional than insightful; more proud than smart; and more conceited than level headed. It is a disaster for America.

Obama has got to go!!!!