President Obama (left) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (right) today at the White House.
Obama and Netanyahu meet, take five… The two men hold a press avail at noon ET… The meeting comes as the U.S. has more leverage over Israel than it might ever have, and as more Americans than ever say their sympathies lie with the Israelis over the Palestinians… New York $$$ dries up for Democrats… Is Michael Steele still the one?.... Romney hits Obama over START… Blunt and Portman up with new TV ads… And McCain -- yet again -- blasts Hayworth over that infomercial appearance.
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Obama and Netanyahu, take five: We’ll see if today’s Obama-Netanyahu meeting goes better than the others have; after all, there’s nowhere to go but up, right? At 11:00 am ET, President Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in the Oval Office (closed press) at 11:00 am ET, and the two hold a joint press avail at noon (but it's pooled press only, so questions will be VERY limited). The Washington Post tees up the meeting: “Obama was cool toward Netanyahu during their last meeting, leaving the Israeli leader and his aides in the West Wing alone for hours as a subtle rebuke over Israeli settlement policies… That encounter followed an announcement by Israel, during a visit to the country by Vice President Biden, of a plan to construct 1,600 Jewish homes in a part of East Jerusalem that Palestinians view as their future capital. This next meeting has been promised as ‘a makeup visit.’”
*** Obama and Netanyahu, take five: We’ll see if today’s Obama-Netanyahu meeting goes better than the others have; after all, there’s nowhere to go but up, right? At 11:00 am ET, President Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in the Oval Office (closed press) at 11:00 am ET, and the two hold a joint press avail at noon (but it's pooled press only, so questions will be VERY limited). The Washington Post tees up the meeting: “Obama was cool toward Netanyahu during their last meeting, leaving the Israeli leader and his aides in the West Wing alone for hours as a subtle rebuke over Israeli settlement policies… That encounter followed an announcement by Israel, during a visit to the country by Vice President Biden, of a plan to construct 1,600 Jewish homes in a part of East Jerusalem that Palestinians view as their future capital. This next meeting has been promised as ‘a makeup visit.’”
*** Leverage and support: It's worth noting that the Obama administration probably has more leverage over Israel than it has had and may EVER have -- since the U.S., compared with the rest of the international community (including, for instance, even Great Britain), didn’t go out of its way to condemn the Israeli attack on that Gaza-bound flotilla. It’s also worth pointing out that after the flotilla incident, more Americans than ever (61%) said their sympathies are more with the Israelis than the Palestinians, according or our June NBC/WSJ poll. What’s more, nearly two-thirds (65%), said that U.S. relations with Israel are “extremely” or “fairly” important to America’s national interest. Interestingly, support for Israel continues to grow among Republicans. For those with a political memory, that's longer than one or two elections. And it's worth reminding folks that support for Israel used to be a more Democratic position, while Republicans (both elected and self-I.D.-ing) used to express more skepticism about the relationship.
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