The other day a liberal Zionist was quoted anonymously as saying that Obama needed to “grow a sack” with respect to the rightwing government in Israel. John McCarron in the Chicago Tribune says the same thing, at the beginning of a series of questions for Obama:

Why did you let Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu show you up during his recent visit to the U.S.? And why don’t you return the favor by saying some nice things about his political opponents in Israel — opponents who want to give peace a chance and stop grabbing Arab land on the West Bank? You might be amazed at how many of your Jewish contributors would support you on this one. The others are already writing checks to the other guy.

In fairness to Obama, I believe that he has caved completely on the Palestinian question because Netanyahu has blackmailed him with the possibility of an attack on Iran. All of which argues for these matters to be politicized: for Americans to openly debate the power of the lobby inside our politics.