Jake Tapper runs circles around Robert Gibbs almost every day. And sometimes he strikes comedy gold. Today he went after Gibbs’s assertion that the Republicans have no ideas. He pointed out that they had given him ideas (which were rejected out of hand, but that’s another story) on the stimulus. Then Tapper swoops in for the kill:
TAPPER: If the president incorporated some of — if the Democrats on Capitol Hill and the president incorporated some of the Republican ideas, Why would the president say the Republican Party is a party of no — no ideas?
GIBBS: Well, I — I do think you’ve heard, certainly, recently a lot more criticism than you’ve heard suggestions. I think you’ve — I think the obligation of anybody involved — I’ll quote my friend, Warren Buffett, again, that he certainly made mention of the fact that Democrats and Republicans, because of the gravity of the situation and the many challenges that we face, should work together. I think working together would include sharing ideas on — on both sides of the aisle about what has to be done. There’s, you know, co-equal branches of government. I think it’s important that everybody be involved in a healthy debate about the solutions that might surround a recovery plan and how to get our economy growing for the long term.
Huh? That’s what passes for intellectual argument from the White House press briefing room these days. No wonder they decided to go after Rush Limbaugh.
hazony’s logic here is specious to the point of non-existent…
…what does he think such polls would show? that hamas is now as popular as george bush? everyone – and i mean, EVERYONE – knew that israel wasn’t going to reoccupy gaza so whatever the aftermath of a conflict would leave an armed and wounded hamas ready, willing and able to take their failure and frustrations out on the local population…
…jeez, contentions itself posted pieces on what hamas did to suspected/real ‘collaborators’ with israel…
what’s the best and easiest way for the west bank to shake its fist and ‘defy’ israel? what’s the best way to show ‘solidarity’ with your gazan ‘brothers’ without putting your life at risk?
the notion – where on earth does it come from?! – that west bankers would be so chastened and sobered by ‘cast lead’ that they wouldn’t express cheap defiance by telling pollsters they stand by hamas is, frankly, silly and ahistorical…
….if – or when – hamas starts smuggling suicide bankers through the west bank posts or – btter yet – get innovative enough to lob a few qassams into israel, i’ll concede your logic trumps this analysis…
….pace chas freeman, hamas and hezbollah are genuine threats because they have the ability and will to kill their declared enemies….if i were living in the west bank, i’d think twice before telling a pollster anything….i’d think three times before publicly criticizing hamas….
I have to agree. Polls conducted in the PA territories are about as valid as those conducted in North Korea.
In any case there was no point in Israel reoccupying Gaza unless it planned to stay at least another 40 years. Where’s the Israeli constituency for that?
“You know, comrades,” says Stalin, “what I think about that: I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extremely important is this—who will count the votes, and how. ”
(Russian text:”Знаете, товарищи, -
говорит Сталин, – что я думаю по этому поводу: я считаю, что
совершенно неважно, кто и как будет в партии голосовать; но вот что
чрезвычайно важно, это – кто и как будет считать голоса”. http://lib.ru/MEMUARY/BAZHANOW/stalin.txt)
This is excellent news.
Again, having an honest enemy is worth its weight in gold.
The weak yet hateful holocaust denier Abbas, who believes in genocide on the installment plan, is termed a moderate, and someone the US and Europe would force Israel to concede to – regardless of the fact that he does not ‘represent’ anybody but his corrupted cronies – who are willing to put the destruction of Israel on a low simmer while they enrich themselves.
Hamas, on the other hand, is breathtakingly honest.
What you see is what you get.
If you believe the true solution lies in the eventual repatriation of the weaponized, wholly fabricated and f!@#ed-up-beyond repair ‘palestinians’ to the arab world that created and maintained them, then having Hamas represent them facilitates that long term goal.
This may have to play out over many years.
That’s OK, as long as they are contained and their ability to kill Israelis is reduced to zero.
That’s where Netanyahu comes in.
Oh, and a belated ‘thank you’ to the graceless and inept Condoleeza, who insisted Hamas be allowed onto the ballot, and even to campaign in the Jerusalem suburbs, several years ago.
#5: “having an honest enemy is worth its weight in gold”
Then what you need is an obese honest enemy…
Next time you have an opportunity to cut the head off the snake, cut the head off. The problem with next is the dang thing is so slick and moves so erratically that you may not catch it again.
Hamas may very well lower the amount of rocket attacks, but just enough to not whether serious criticism from the international community, but if Israel retaliates in the slightest will be heavily criticized.
So the $900 million the US gives to the PA goes to people who are on the side of Hamas, the terrorists who shoot thousands of rockets at civilians and who oppress Christians in Gaza, the allies of Hezbollah who murdered hundreds of marines, the clients of our trusted friend Iran.
It is time to repatriate ALL Palestinians, from Gaza, “pre-48″ Israel, Judea and Samaria to the Transjordan Palestine, the originally designated home for Palestinian Arabs…oh that’s right it is now called Jordan, after some sleigh-of-hand map-making and fancy-footwork dimplomacy by the British cColonial Office and the Hashemite chieftain kicked out of Arabia by the Saudi clan.