...sounds like, Bubba's Very Solemn Promise(s) about "the Middle Class Income Tax burden (amongst other things "the most ethical / honesty administration :).
Bubba: "I tried as hard as anyone has ever tried." 
Posted on 07/22/2008 11:08:45 AM PDT by SJackson
Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday to work for a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations "starting from the minute I'm sworn into office."
In a news conference here before departing for Israel, he said any U.S. involvement in peace talks must recognize not only Israel's security concerns but also the economic hardships facing Palestinians.
He said he would continue to regard Israel as a valued ally. "That policy is not going to change," he said.
"What I think can change is the ability of the United States government and a United States president to be actively engaged with the peace process and to be concerned and recognize the legitimate difficulties that the Palestinian people are experiencing right now."
Obama, in the midst of a weeklong high visibility foreign trek, also acknowledged the long history of Middle East tensions that would confront him if he were to become president.
"It's unrealistic to expect that a U.S. president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region," he said.
Obama was in Afghanistan and Iraq before arriving in Jordan on Tuesday for talks with King Abdullah. He planned to leave for Israel later in the day. He then is scheduled to travel to Europe.
Obama condemned an attack in Jerusalem on Tuesday, where a Palestinian man rammed a construction vehicle into cars and a bus near the downtown hotel where Obama was scheduled to stay later in the day. An Israeli civilian shot and killed the driver. Several people were injured in the attack, which resembled a deadly vehicle assault that took place in the city earlier this month.
"Today's bulldozer attack is a reminder of what Israelis have courageously lived with on a daily basis for far too long," Obama said.
Campaign aides said Obama intends to visit a southern Israeli town that is a frequent target of rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza.
The stop in Sderot is part of a crowded day of events on Wednesday in which the Illinois senator has also arranged to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on the West Bank and with Israeli leaders.
Susan Rice, a foreign policy adviser, said Obama wanted to go to Sderot because it is a "place in which Israel's security is every day at risk and threatened. And Sen. Obama will have the opportunity to see that first hand and get a very personal feel for the everyday" difficulties. His schedule indicates he intends to spend slightly more than an hour there.
Obama's trip to Iraq and Afghanistan was an official congressional trip, paid for with federal funds. The balance of his travels are financed by his presidential campaign.
The Illinois Democrat is working to shore up support among U.S. Jewish voters, many of whom supported Hillary Rodham Clinton in the battle for the party's presidential nomination, and some of whom have questioned his commitment to Israel.
Obama's schedule for Wednesday also includes a visit to Yad Vashem, the Israeli memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Aides said a stop at the Western Wall, one of the holiest places in Judaism, was also a possibility.
In addition to Abbas, Obama's meeting list for the day includes Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and members of his Cabinet as well as Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the opposition Likud party and a former prime minister.
In his news conference, Obama alluded to the internal domestic problems facing Olmert, who is facing allegations of corruption, and the political schism among Palestinians.
"One of the difficulties that we have right now is that in order to make those compromises you have to have strong support from your people, and the Israeli government right now is unsettled," he said. "You know, the Palestinians are divided between Fatah and Hamas."
He compared the existing circumstances with those that permitted Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to sign a peace treaty in 1979.
"Those leaders were in a much stronger position to initiate that kind of peace," Obama said.
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any U.S. involvement in peace talks must recognize not only Israel's security concerns but also the economic hardships facing Palestinians
Yes, we'll be sending them more money and arms. When in Jordan did you ask the good King what he's going to do to boost the palestinian economy?
If elected, he’ll learn the hard way, just like George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush did, that you just can’t mediate between the Israelis and a pack of wild animals like the Palis.
I cannot help but think of Jimmy Carter, Yassir Afafat, Camp David, and the resulting solution of all Middle East conflicts. Uh huh.
...sounds like, Bubba's Very Solemn Promise(s) about "the Middle Class Income Tax burden (amongst other things "the most ethical / honesty administration :).
Bubba: "I tried as hard as anyone has ever tried."
And he's got all the Carter and Clinton folk on board to do the negotiating. That's change.
Better men than BO have been trying to negotiate this for 60 years or more. The real problem is that America is not seen as an honest broker in any of these discussions since we support Israel 100%, as we should. Therefore, IMHO, Jeruselem and other holy sites should become “international cities” administered by someone strong enough to fight off both parties singularly or collectively in the event of armed disputes. Unfortunately, the UN (gag) isn’t up to it so that leaves it to NATO or the US.
yeah yeah.....you were such an effective community organizer and senator......and now you’ll use that experience to solve the centuries old unsolvable problem....riiight...
Has anyone kept a list of all the things he has promised to do “first thing” as soon as he is sworn in? Seems like it is a growing list.
true but he will be dealing with them a little longer, maybe ten years.
Yeah, like restrictions on Pali heavy equipment operators? Or the searching of ambulances that have, against all international practices and decency, been used for transport of terrorists and their weapons? Or the free water and electricity the Israelis provide, all the while under missile attack?
“any U.S. involvement in peace talks must recognize not only Israel’s security concerns but also the economic hardships facing Palestinians”
What an ignorant ass Obama is.
The “economic hardships” of the “Palestinians” comes from the fact that they are hostage to the terrorists they support, terrorists who create the security conditions that impede on normal, peaceful economic intercourse between “Palestinians” (Arabs and or Muslims living somewhere in what the Romans use to call Palestinia) and Israelis.
Were it not for the “Palestinian” terrorism, the “economic hardships” would be readily resolved. Until there is no more terrorism, no amount of international handouts will end those “economic hardships”.
The cost of the “economic hardships” is self-imposed by the Palestinians. They are the ones who can end the cause of such hardships, by ending the terrorism.
...he said any U.S. involvement in peace talks must recognize not only Israel's security concerns but also the economic hardships facing Palestinians. He said he would continue to regard Israel as a valued ally... "What I think can change is the ability of the United States government and a United States president to be actively engaged with the peace process and to be concerned and recognize the legitimate difficulties that the Palestinian people are experiencing right now." ... "It's unrealistic to expect that a U.S. president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region," he said... "Today's bulldozer attack is a reminder of what Israelis have courageously lived with on a daily basis for far too long," Obama said. Campaign aides said Obama intends to visit a southern Israeli town that is a frequent target of rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza... His schedule indicates he intends to spend slightly more than an hour there... Obama's schedule for Wednesday also includes a visit to Yad Vashem, the Israeli memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Aides said a stop at the Western Wall, one of the holiest places in Judaism, was also a possibility.He's going to not change anything, and get a different result. At least, that's what he's saying here. Nice of him to spend a whole missile-free hour in Sderot, eh? Thanks C from E.
What is it about the Arab-Israeli Conflict that traps every president? They weren’t this eager to stop the fighting in Northern Ireland, and I remember how unsolvable THAT looked. As much as I love Israel, what I’d like to see is a president who declares he won’t get involved in that mess, because there has been fighting in the Middle East since the dawn of history; then he’ll move on to something else.
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