Speech to AIPAC could give Netanyahu his out

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/02/could-speech-netanyahus

Earlier, the report quoted Israeli officials who said that the content of Netanyahu’s speech may be “toned down” to be less partisan, that the speech may be made behind closed doors and that Netanyahu may make his speech at the AIPAC convention rather than in Congress.

That could be the out: Netanyahu would just address the AIPAC policy conference on March 1-3 in Washington, thus saving face. And he’d get full attendance of Congress after all!

Another Democrat has bowed out of the Netanyahu show. Independent Bernie Sanders, who represents Vermont. DaveWeigel tweets:

At Brookings, Bernie Sanders says he’s not going to the Netanyahu address to Congress.

[1StrongBlackMan]

1. That forum may be his out ...

for those desperately looking to give him one ... but it holds nowhere near the optics.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

2. Reminds me of Spinal Tap being demoted from the big arenas down to the Elks Lodge league.

But Spinal Tap were sympathetic characters, so the parallel only goes so far.

[Fred Sanders]

4. More like being demoted to AA from the Big Leagues, tough to recover from that.

"A poll on Army Radio on Monday said 47 percent of Israelis think Netanyahu should cancel the address, while 34% said he should go ahead with it."

[Fred Sanders]

3. If by "out" you mean "escape", AIPAC is not a Joint Session of the American Congress. Nope.

No comparison as to how and what media would cover another boring AIPAC meeting much in America....or Israel two weeks before a national election. They have some kind of election law about that.

Saving face is going to require Bibi stay put in Israel and fire Dermer.

Followed by a grovelling public letter of apology and genuine humility Obama.

Then we start talking saving enough face to maybe get re-elected.