Netanyahu's Rules Of Debate

by Hugh Hewitt - May 22nd, 2011 - The Washington Examiner

The battle between the warrior and the academic was bound to turn out this way. President Obama was a community organizer once. Netanyahu was commander of the Israeli Defense Forces' elite special forces unit, Sayeret Matkal. Faculty meetings can get rough, but not as rough as the hostage rescue mission to free Sabena Flight 571.

So the president's absurd declaration about 1967 borders is off the table. In fact, the table is gone. Israel can wait out the 20 months left to Obama's presidency, or even 48 months [more] if American voters insanely choose to experiment with epic incompetence at the top for another term. Israel isn't going back to the Auschwitz borders, and only a naive and inexperienced academic would think that Thursday's speech would do other than worsen prospects for a negotiated settlement.

The left is furious with Netanyahu for "insulting" their President, going on every news show to express their resentment. Yet Netanyahu never once raised his voice, or sneered at Obama the way Obama sneers at those he constantly insults. Obama is fond of inviting people to meetings and then using the power of his office to mock them in public. At some point he had to realize he was going to meet someone on who such tactics did not work. Certainly someone like Netanyahu, a man who has proven his mettle in the face of real danger in battles more complex than debating a narcissist like Obama, was going to have little trouble dealing with him.

I was actually impressed with how polite and courteous Netanyahu remained. It was not tone or aggression with which he won the confrontation. It was command of the facts and the logic of his analysis.

The best line in the article is where Hewitt describes Obama as a man of "epic incompetence".

I would love the opportunity to see someone say that to Obama's face.