Open microphone at G20
Sarkozy (some French dude) says to Obama about Benji: “I can’t stand him. He’s a liar”
Obama affirms the sentiment of general disdain for the guy.
Outrage ensues.
But here’s what bugs me. The outrage is against Obama & Sarkozy for evidently not thinking Netanyahu is just a swell guy doing a tough job. Perhaps it’s just my twisted mind being out of warranty, but my only beef with them is their lack of discretion–Jesus guys, check your 360 and use the big-boy voice when there are microphones around! Just like my beef with Bill Clinton: How in the world did you let yourself get caught?
Now here’s a thought–and it’s just a thought–but what if nobody gives Netanyahu any hugs or appologies? Would it be all that tragic if, when an appology is demanded, Barak and Nicolas look at each other, and into the camera and say, “Well now that it’s out, yeah, of course he’s a dick and a loose cannon! He’s bad for Israel and he’s bad for Europe & America’s relationship with the Muslim world. But we have to support him because in the bigger picture we need to support Israel.”
Besides, the quote is taken out of context. Maybe they were out having beers the night before and Benji was spinning some obtuse yarn about hookers and blow; and Nicolas, who knows a thing or two about hookers and blow, saw through it.
In the pit because, well, if you don’t love all things Israel you’re a racist pig.
I’m gonna go way out on a limb and guess that (1) Obama is a liar; (2) Sarkozy is a liar; (3) Netanyahu is a liar; (4) George Bush (both) are liars; (5) Bill Clinton is a liar; (6) Ronald Reagan was a liar; (7) Jimmy Carter is a liar; and so on.
In fact, I will really expose myself this morning and assert that in general, successful politicians are liars.
It isn’t exactly covering America in diplomatic glory, at any rate. Although to be fair, it’s really Sarkozy (whom I once admired). He revealed himself to be something of an ass, and not a terribly competent one at that: able to build a political coalition, but not actually any good at solving problems. This isn’t the first time his badmouthing other heads of state or goverment has gone public.
Maybe my brain is out of warranty, but I haven’t come across any of the “Poor Bibi” outrage that you have. Reactions I’ve seen have been limited to any combination of praise for Obama and that French dude for being honest, dismay for our leaders’ apparent contempt for Netanyahu while still backing what is frequently described as Israel-sponsored terrorism, and anxiety that this inadvertently-public admission may weaken our relationship with Israel.
At least your head of government didn’t get caught on tape during a fucking election campaign calling a [del]bigoted woman[/del] loyal voter a bigoted woman.
Not that I know of, and I hope nothing is forthcoming.
There was this bit from the Anti Defamation League:
Which strikes me as little more than political-correctness drivel, considering Benji’s own guy as much as says, “Yeah? What of it? He can’t stand those guys either?”
And that Einat Wilf quote was pure gold–few politicians have the stones anymore to even admit the know of Machiavelli.
This seems to happen pretty often (well, not the “bigoted woman” thing, but world leaders forgetting that they’re mic’d when giving “honest opinions”). Obviously politicians should be more careful about it, but it also seems it must be a pretty easy mistake to make (especailly when you consider that most of the times it happens, you figure it just picks up leaders talking about mundane stuff and no one bothers reporting it).
I imagine world leaders spend a lot of sitting around waiting to make speeches, and their time is valubable, so they try to conduct business with their staff, other leaders, etc while they’re sitting around, and if you spend a lot of time with a mic attached to your collar, its easy to forget its there.
Moral of story, I could clean up with a business selling mics with really bright obvious LEDs that indicate when they’re on to political campaigns.
The question is whether that sort of catharsis is effective diplomacy. Does being publicly insulted by the presidents of France and the US cause Netanyahu to moderate the policies that those administrations object to, or does it strengthen him at home such that he digs in harder?
Huh, the original page had a link comparing the twos approval rating, Netanyahu’s was fairly low. Not sure if they changed it or I linked to the wrong page, but I’ll see if I can find the original.
(also, does Haaretz have some policy against releasing poll numbers? When I try and find Netanyahu’s approval rating, I get a bunch of articles from them saying they did a poll and his approval is “soaring” or “Plummeting” or"holding steady" or whatever, but they never actually give numbers. Its kind of obnoxious).
I think it would, long term. If he knew he’d be publically ridiculed–and possibly abandoned–for playing the “Ha ha, you can’t go public on this 'cuz you’re my official ally! Neener neener neener!” game.
If a little kid is a punk because he knows his big brother will protect him, it’s only a matter of time before big brother tells him, “I’m tired of being sucked into your crap and looking like I’m as big a douchebag as you. You brought this one on yourself, you deal with it.” and lets him take a much-deserved ass-whuppin. Maybe it’s time we helped Israel grow up a bit and feel the wrath their elected leader brings down on them.
