Obama And The King
After meeting with Pope Francis yesterday, President Obama is headed to Saudi Arabia today to meet with King Abdullah. Just as Obama's NATO meetings this week were meant to reassure nervous allies, today's meeting is meant to repair strained relations with the Saudis.
The Saudis have been very public in their displeasure with Obama's foreign policy, particularly his outreach toward Shiite Iran. One Middle East expert suggested that Riyadh's patience is wearing thin.
"Their view of Mr. Obama is that his entire understanding is wrong. The trust in him is not very high," said Mustafa Alani of the Gulf Research Center. "If [Obama's] coming empty-handed and King Abdullah hears the same rhetoric he's been hearing, I think the relationship will suffer far more than it suffered before."
I couldn't help but notice that after Obama's stop in Rome he's off to Riyadh. Even though he is "in the neighborhood," I suppose his schedule is just too jammed to squeeze in a visit to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.
Here's something the president should bring up with the Saudis. This week the Arab League held a summit in Kuwait and released a statement that read in part: "We hold Israel entirely responsible for the lack of progress in the peace process… We express our absolute and decisive rejection to recognizing Israel as a Jewish state."
Israel is surrounded by Islamic nations, many of which have Sharia law written into their constitutions. Yet some believe there cannot be even one Jewish state in the world.
If Israel's neighbors were serious about the peace process, if they truly desired peace with Israel, it shouldn't be that hard to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The fact that it is speaks volumes about the deep-seated anti-Semitism that is so prevalent among Israel's Arab League neighbors. And that is the real reason there is no progress in the so-called "peace process."
Obamacare Hits New Record
The White House is crowing about the latest Obamacare enrollment figures, but that's not what I'm referring to. We all know those numbers are bogus anyway.
The record I'm referring to comes from the latest Associated Press poll: Just 26% of Americans support Obamacare -- a record low.
But that figure comes with a caveat. Even with support for Obamacare at a record low, only 13% of respondents believe it will be completely repealed. A majority (54%) believes it will be implemented "as is" or with only minor reforms.
Why is that? There are some things in the law that are popular, and which even conservatives have historically agreed with, such as covering pre-existing conditions, allowing adult children to remain on their parents' policies longer and providing coverage for catastrophic illnesses.
The public is clearly frustrated with Obamacare. But if we are ever going to move beyond this monument to big government incompetence, conservative policy makers must be ready with solutions and able to speak to the legitimate concerns that many Americans struggle with every day.
Victory For Life
Conservative victories in the courts are few, so it's nice when we have the opportunity to report them. Yesterday a panel of judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld challenged portions of the recently passed pro-life legislation in Texas that banned late-term abortions and improved health and safety standards for abortionists and their facilities.
Of course, the radical pro-abortion lobby is not giving up and will challenge the law all the way to the Supreme Court, where the outcome is questionable.
What struck me this morning as I read the news online was the picture the media chose to accompany the report. It showed five demonstrators laying on the capitol floor with letters on their chests spelling out "SHAME."
That just shows what a bizarre world we live in. Leftists say the desire to stop the carnage of unborn children is a matter of shame, while the supporters of abortion-on-demand have no shame, hailing it as a noble, fundamental right.