SOLITAIRE-Y MAN

President Obama has developed such a long track record of conciliation, appeasement and outright abdication of his leadership position that his latest act of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory should take no one by surprise.

The ink was barely dry on his State of the Union address, hailed by even his detractors as a bold and confrontational blueprint for his final two years in office, when in walks (almost literally) Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu. In an almost breathtaking insult that would certainly be addressed by any self-respecting head of state, Netanyahu declared, without notifying Obama, that he would be in Washington to address the U.S. Congress regarding Israeli security issues. Obama’s response was, to put it mildly, muted.

One of his aides declared that the President was miffed. Another advisor called Netanyahu’s plan a mistake that was a cause for concern. Netanyahu, whose country is the recipient of more military aid than any nation on the planet yawned. The leader of this tiny country whose existence is totally dependent on the goodwill of the United States thumbed his nose at the president and dared him to do anything about it. True to form, Obama folded.

Some observers have commented that Netanyahu was taking a big gamble by deliberately offending our Commander in Chief, but Netanyahu knows his prey and a leopard never changes its spots, and certainly not a toothless leopard like our own.

Israel must be an acute observer of the Obama presidency. Owing to its unflattering status as one of the world’s leading human rights violators and supported in the United Nations by only the U.S. and occasionally the Marshall Islands or Tonga, Israel cannot afford to make a mistake that would risk U.S. sanctions. Netanyahu, after six years of scrutiny, knew he had nothing to worry about. Obama showed his cards at the beginning of his presidency and it's been downhill ever since.

After winning the election in 2008 in a landslide, enjoying all the goodwill of a country soiled by the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld administration, inspiring an electorate by his slogan of hope and promising to reverse the right-wing abuse of our entire financial system, the very first thing he does (don’t dismiss symbolism) is to choose extremist evangelist Rick Warren to give the invocation at the Obama inauguration. Warren, who two weeks before the election, campaigned enthusiastically for California’s Prop 8 anti-gay marriage amendment, not to mention consistently denying the science of evolution, gave Netanyahu a hint at the pathetic and weak president who would search for any form of concession rather than confrontation.

In fairness to the president, Obama’s handlers did dare to take one action, inaction in this case; they gave notice that when Netanyahu flies to Washington and addresses our Congress, Obama will (sniff) not meet with him. This is like not being invited to a party and saying you didn’t want to go anyway. I made that excuse in high school. Obama probably did too. I actually did want to go. There was a cute girl there who I really wanted to meet. I don’t want to get into that story now but it does have a happy ending. The Obama-Netanyahu tale ends unhappily; the rejected adolescent plays solitaire all night long in the White House listening to the band playing next door.

With the Saudis continuing their intransigence and Putin defying American demands it will be a long two more years. My advice to Obama: get another deck of cards ready.