Israeli political analyst Joseph Alpher speculates in the Washington Post today about the possible impact of the outcome of the American presidential election on the Israeli election early next year:

“The Israeli public wants a prime minister who gets along with the U.S. president,” he said. “If Obama wins, and goes ahead with his plan to open a dialogue with Iran and Syria, that could help [Tzipi] Livni. If McCain wins, that might help [Benjamin] Netanyahu.”

In fact, I share the view that the worst case scenario for the world would be a McCain win in the US and a Netanyahu win in Israel.

Kadima chair, Tzipi Livni, has failed to bring together a coalition government and will now be taking Israel to the polls when it is widely expected that the ultra right-wing Zionist Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party in cohorts with other ultra right-wing nationalist and expansionist groups will win government. Already the settlers in the occupied territories sense victory as they confront Israeli authorities over the removal of illegal outposts since they know that with Netanyahu they have a friend who shares their expansionist dreams.

But the most terrifying aspect of a McCain win in the US and a Netanyahu win in Israel is the very much enhanced likelihood of a final confrontation with Iran and the fallout, literally and metaphorically, that such a confrontation will have for the Middle East and the world. Netanyahu has in the past hinted at a ‘nuclear strike on Iran’. And, of course, who can forget McCain’s policy of ‘Bomb, bomb, bombing Iran’.

A global political marriage between a U.S. President McCain and a Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has been the ultimate neocon wet dream. Thanks to American voters it seems that at least the groom-to-be will not be showing up for the wedding ceremony in the Weekly Standard/AEI  offices.