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Palin Kai Palin, More On Palin

From the land that has given you such giants as Ehud Olmert, a depressing observation: With irony bordering on the painful, the journalist added, “Sarah Palin has restored my faith in Israel.” Israel is far from a model of good government, wise policymaking and exemplary leaders. But here, at least, voters and the politicians they […]

From the land that has given you such giants as Ehud Olmert, a depressing observation:

With irony bordering on the painful, the journalist added, “Sarah Palin has restored my faith in Israel.”

Israel is far from a model of good government, wise policymaking and exemplary leaders. But here, at least, voters and the politicians they make it their business to know inside and out, relate to politics not as if it were a spectacular bowl game or a reality show.but for what politics really is, in America and Israel both: a matter of life and death.

Meanwhile, Pat Buchanan argues that Palin is not a neocon.  In terms of her background, I am inclined to agree, since neoconservatives typically come from among East Coast journalists, think tankers and occasionally scholars, but when Mr. Buchanan says that the fight for her soul is not over a question comes to mind: who else exactly is fighting for it?  Then again, while she may not be neocon she seems to have already shared one of their obsessions.  How many other U.S. governors have Israeli flags in their offices?  Perhaps there are more than I would imagine, but you don’t normally expect to find them in Juneau.  Unfortunately, as I and others have noted, her religious background also may lead her to adopt positions concerning Near East policy that resemble John Hagee’s.  Of course, we were all reliably informed months ago that no one should worry about McCain’s links to Hagee, since McCain already held dangerous views about foreign policy in the region, but perhaps it might be time to revisit what Hagee and CUFI’s influence in a future McCain administration might be.  It seems that Palin’s evangelical background will probably predispose her to adopt the same overzealous “pro-Israel” view that Mr. Bush has held, and this will make her more susceptible to arguments for aggressive military action against any and all presumed enemies of Israel.  If the future Vice President will not be trying to push for attacks on Iran, as Cheney is now, neither will she likely be inclined to stop them.

Another thing to note: 2002 serves as an important date in Palin’s career.  This is the year when she ran for lieutenant governor.  It is also the year she left her Assemblies of God church in Wasilla for a less controversial non-denominational church and the year her husband dropped his Independence Party registration.  Some of the things that are invoked as reasons to hold out hope for the Palins are either already long gone, or they were dropped easily for the sake of making Palin more viable as a statewide candidate.  Now that she has reached the national stage, what else will she drop to accommodate herself to the demands of a McCain administration?

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