Obama warns US president can’t solve Mideast crisis alone

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Stephen Collinson Agence France Presse AMMAN: White House hopeful Barack Obama stepped into the maelstrom of the Middle East Tuesday, warning the next US president could not just snap his fingers and make peace, as fresh violence rocked the region. The Democratic senator’s high-risk tour to prove his commander in chief mettle touched down in Jordan for talks with King Abdullah II, and an onward journey to Israel and a packed presidential-style schedule. But the region’s tensions immediately intruded, as a Palestinian man was shot dead after going on a bulldozer rampage which wounded at least 16 people near Jerusalem’s King David Hotel where Obama was to stay. Obama condemned the attack, saying it was a reminder of what Israelis have to “courageously live with on a daily basis for far too long,” and promised to vigorously join the search for Middle East peace if he is elected in November. The Illinois senator, who is being advised by ex-President Bill Clinton’s former Middle East envoy Dennis Ross, backed the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But a day before meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders, he warned that entrenched positions, divisions among Palestinians and turbulent Israeli politics meant progress could be slow. “It is a very difficult process. There is a lot of history that exists between those two people. That history is not going to vanish overnight. “So I think it’s unrealistic to expect that a US president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region,” he added. Obama flew in from Iraq aboard a US military aircraft, and disembarked carrying a helmet and a flak jacket and wearing a wrinkled shirt and heavy-duty hiking boots following his stealth visit to Iraq. While Obama is likely to be greeted as a hero in Europe, there remain questions in the Middle East about his potential policies toward the region. His view that Occupied Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of Israel sparked fury among Palestinians, who saw it as pre-judging final status talks, while his offer to talk to Iran is likely to face scrutiny in Israel. Abdullah, fresh from a trip to the United States, hosted Obama for a half-hour of closed talks, before a formal dinner. “Jordan is a very important state in the region, it’s played an important role in the peace process,” a senior Obama adviser said on condition of anonymity. But mindful of claims by backers of Obama’s Republican rival John McCain that the trip is a mere political stunt, the aide stressed the senator was in Jordan to listen and talk. “We have one president at a time, Senator Obama is not here to make policy or negotiate but to have a very useful exchange.” In Colorado on Monday, King Abdullah said he would keep any advice to Obama private, but urged a vigorous future US role in peace moves. “I see us at a crossroads – a time of danger and challenge, but also, unique opportunities,” he said. Jordanian officials said the king would raise concerns about the Palestinian cause and his country’s efforts to help forge an independent Palestinian state. Obama’s Israel schedule has more in common with a presidential trip than that of a mere presidential candidate. He will meet Premier Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, opposition Likud party chief Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Obama will also pay homage to Holocaust victims at the Yad Vashem Memorial and hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. The Obama camp again sought to clarify his position on Occupied Jerusalem after his comments to the US Jewish lobby in June, which aides later admitted were poorly worded. “He has repeatedly said Jerusalem is a final-status issue to be negotiated by the parties, that Jerusalem will remain Israel’s capital, but it should not again be divided by barbed wire and checkpoints,” said one adviser. After spending two days in Israel, the Illinois senator will head to Germany for the symbolic centerpiece of his campaign swing, a major open-air speech in Berlin on US transatlantic relations. – AFP

What Could Jesus Learn from Barack Obama?

While Barack Obama is in the Middle East, he brings to mind another great leader who made waves there not too long ago. That’s right: Jesus Christ.

While many people think Obama draws inspiration from Jesus, I view it the other way around. I mean, what could Christ learn from Obama?

There were times when Jesus was plagued with doubt and wondered if he was up to the task. But this doesn’t happen with Obama. Some call it arrogance, but I call it spiritual confidence.
Seriously, would Obama have told God, “Sorry Dad, I can’t die for everyone’s sins. I’d rather build canoes.”

No way. Obama just says, “Bring it on, God.”

Jesus also took grief for hanging with paupers, thieves, even a scorned woman. But just marvel at the way Obama stuck by a controversial life partner, as well as his pal in the Weather Underground. That’s loyalty, Jesus.

And yet, Obama also knew when it was time to cut the strings, as he did with Reverend Wright. If only Jesus had done the same with Judas.

Jesus was only 33 when he died for our sins. And, aside from carpentry, what experience did he have in saving the world? Did he ever run a corporation, hold public office for many years or fight in a war? No, no and no. A Holy Trinity of no — like Obama.

But Obama is older than Jesus, he went to better schools, he can speak more languages and he did narcotics. So you could say he’s been there and done that. And that’s good.

Some say Jesus flip flops: On one hand he preaches forgiveness, on the other he mentions hell. But by seeing how Obama shifts beliefs to gain political advantage, you can see that all great leaders are willing to change. I mean, if you keep falling down, maybe it’s time to buy a better cross.

And sure, Jesus Christ had a funny name. But, here are some other funny names: Gandhi, Confucius, Obama, Pitt. Meanwhile, here are some more common names: Koresh, Manson, Bush.

You get the picture.

And if you disagree with me, then you sir are worse than Hitler.

Greg Gutfeld hosts “Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld” weekdays at 3 a.m. ET. Send your comments to: redeye@foxnews.com

Jerusalem a minefield for Obama

When Senator Barack Obama arrives in Israel, he will find plenty of sceptics wondering if such a foreign policy neophyte has what it takes to finally nail down a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Democratic presidential hopeful has already got himself into hot water over one of the thorniest issues: the status of disputed Jerusalem.

Last month, he tried to woo Israel’s powerful US lobby by saying Jerusalem should be Israel’s capital and “must remain undivided”.

Palestinians, who claim the city’s eastern sector as capital of a future state, were furious.

Obama’s attempts to defuse the flap then got him into trouble with some Israelis and their US supporters when he clarified his remarks to say Jerusalem’s fate should be negotiated – the long-standing American position.

“When the candidate lands here [today], a fog of ambiguity will still hover over his position: it remains unclear whether Jerusalem, the focus of his brief trip, will be a united city under Israeli sovereignty or the capital of two states. Barack Obama doesn’t have a clear idea himself, and he has been straddling the fence,” former dovish MP Yossi Sarid wrote in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.

Obama arrives in Israel after visiting Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan. He will meet Israeli leaders and, unlike Republican rival John McCain, an avid Israel supporter who visited in March, he will travel to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leaders, too.

Obama has a solid Senate record of supporting Israel. He has reaffirmed his backing for its right to defend itself and underscored the need to stop Iran promoting terrorism or getting nuclear weapons. Like the Bush Administration, he opposes negotiations with the Islamic militant Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

Still, his openness to talking to Iran – Israel’s bitterest enemy – and his short stint on the national stage have made many Israelis uncomfortable at the prospect of an Obama presidency.

Ofer Malachi, a 40-year-old contractor from Jerusalem, says Obama would be “very dangerous for Israel” because of his willingness to engage in dialogue with Iran.

Israel is convinced Tehran is building nuclear weapons, despite its protestations to the contrary. Iran also backs two other Israeli foes, Hamas and Lebanon’s Hizbollah guerrillas.

Arieh Eldad of the ultranationalist National Union Party said Obama’s middle name Hussein “concerned” him and he feared the candidate would identify more easily with Arabs than Israelis. “I guess that the Arab citizens of the Arab states around Israel would be concerned if a nominee for being President of the United States, hisfamily name would be Cohen.”

Obama yesterday won endorsement from Iraq’s leadership during a Baghdad visit for his call to pull American combat forces out in 2010, irking the White House and drawing heated criticism from McCain.

Obama’s Iraq stop, including briefings and a helicopter ride above Baghdad with US commander General David Petraeus and meetings with Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and other Government leaders, forced the five-year-old war back to the top of the presidential campaign agenda.

McCain was battling to stay in the campaign spotlight as Obama’s travels drew huge attention at home and abroad. The four-term Arizona senator, appearing wrong-footed by the Iraq developments, hotly disagreed on troop withdrawals, saying any pullout “must be based on conditions on the ground”, not arbitrary timelines.

The fissures between them were only deepened when Iraqi Government spokesman Ali al-Dabagh emerged from the Obama-Maliki meeting to say: “We are hoping that in 2010 that combat troops will withdraw.”

Obama has repeatedly said he wants those forces out of the country by the middle of that year.

Iraq’s Sunni Vice-President, Tariq al-Hashemi, said: “I’d be happy if we reach an agreement to say, for instance, December 31, 2010” would mark the departure of the last US combat unit, noting the date would depend on security and the pace of training for Iraqi forces.

Obama cartoon stirs controversy

Obama cartoon stirs controversy

The Obama camp said the cover was “tasteless and offensive” [AFP] A magazine cover of Barack Obama and his wife has caused controversy in the United States. The New Yorker cartoon depicts the Democratic presidential candidate as a Muslim and his wife Michelle in camouflage fatigues with a gun strapped to her shoulder, with a portrait of Osama bin Laden hanging over the mantel. The magazine said the cartoon on its cover was satirical and designed to mock the misconceptions US voters have about Obama. The cartoon shows the couple standing in the presidential Oval Office in front of a fireplace in which an American flag is burning. The illustration by Barry Blitt showed Obama in sandals, robe and turban, and his wife dressed in camouflage pants, combat boots and an assault rifle. The New Yorker issue, titled The Politics of Fear, hit the newsstands on Monday. The presidential candidate did not respond when asked about the cartoon, but Bill Burton, a campaign spokesman, condemned the cover, saying the magazine might think of it as “a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama’s right-wing critics have tried to create, but most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive, and we agree”. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, said the cover was “totally inappropriate”. ‘Obvious satire’ The New Yorker said the drawing “combines a number of fantastical images about the Obamas and shows them for the obvious distortions they are”. Misconceptions Recent Newsweek magazine poll among American electorate indicates: 39% believe Obama attended an Islamic school while growing up in Indonesia 26% believe he was raised a Muslim 12% believe he used a Quran when he was sworn in as a member of the US senate 12% believe is a practising Muslim today “The burning flag, the nationalist-radical and Islamic outfits, the fist-bump, the portrait on the wall? All of them echo one attack or another,” it said on Monday. “Satire is part of what we do, and it is meant to bring things out into the open, to hold up a mirror to prejudice, the hateful, and the absurd. And that’s the spirit of this cover.”The magazine added that there were also two “very serious” articles on Obama in the same issue. Patrick Egan, an assistant professor of politics at New York University, said people who read The New Yorker would see the cover’s satirical character as obvious. “Anyone who knows anything about the New Yorker is going to be able to recognise that this is satire,” he told Al Jazeera. “It’s taking what some Americans falsely believe and blowing it up to literally cartoonish proportions. And, in that sense, it is sophisticated satire and something that a lot of people can kind of laugh over.” The cartoon controversy has highlighted the misconceptions about Obama. A recent Newsweek magazine poll showed that more than a quarter of the American electorate believe that Obama was raised a Muslim and 12 per cent believe he remains a practising Muslim. Obama is a Christian, and his campaign has had to set up what it calls an anti-smear website to combat rumours spreading on the internet about his faith and character.

Obama gaining on Clinton in Pennsylvania: poll

Tue Apr 8, 2008 11:06pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton leads Barack Obama by 6 points among likely Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters but he is chipping away at her lead, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Tuesday.

With two weeks to go until the state’s April 22 primary, Clinton has a 50 percent to 44 percent lead, the poll found.

In the last poll on April 2, Clinton had a 9-point lead over the Illinois senator, 50 percent to 41 percent.

Obama and Clinton, a New York senator, are fighting to be their party’s nominee in the November presidential election against Republican Sen. John McCain.

Among Pennsylvania women, support for Clinton remained steady at 54 percent, but Obama gained ground in the new poll with 41 percent. In the earlier survey, 37 percent of women favored Obama.

The poll found that among white voters, Obama gained 4 points to 38 percent support, while Clinton slipped 3 points to 56 percent.

Among voters under age 44, support for Obama was up 4 percentage points to 55 percent. Clinton dropped 2 points to 40 percent support in that age group, the poll found.

Fifty-two percent of Pennsylvania Democrats said the economy was the single most important issue in deciding their primary vote, followed by 22 percent who said the war in Iraq and 15 percent who cited health care.

Voters who list the economy as the top issue gave Clinton a small 49 percent to 45 percent margin over Obama, down from 53 percent to 39 percent. Voters who say the war is the preeminent issue back Obama 51 percent to 44 percent for Clinton.

The poll of the 1,340 Pennsylvania likely Democratic primary voters was conducted April 3-6 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

(Reporting by Joanne Allen; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

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