Iran: The Peace Dividend

English: President Barack Obama welcomes Israeli President Shimon Peres in the Oval Office Tuesday, May 5, 2009. At right is Vice President Joe Biden. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza. Français : President Barack Obama accueille le président israélien Shimon Peres dans le bureau ovale mardi 5 mai 2009. A droite, le vice-président Joe Biden. Photo officielle de la Maison Blanche par Pete Souza. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Where we stand today, Israel is safer. Correct?

But there were people who were saying Obama is taking Israeli safety down the drain. It was an existential question. How could he?

My point being, sometimes you have to get unpopular with the very people you are trying to help. When you are doing the right thing, the popularity chart is not the right guide. Your compass might not be jiving with it.

So, just on this question, people who got it wrong, will they now take a second look at their prior position? Will they now admit Israel is now in a safer position?

A POTUS, any POTUS, stands with Israel, because America is all about democracy. So Obama's loyalty could not have been in doubt. Ends up he was also right.

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Xi Jinping: Movie Star

Xi Jinping 习近平 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have seen a few pictures of Xi Jinping where he does this subtle body language thing. In one picture Barack Obama is slightly off balance. In another Narendra Modi is caught a little off balance.

Someone analyzed and said he is trying to suggest China is number one. Maybe so.

My analysis is different. This guy is a frustrated movie star. He came into politics because his father was a major communist figure. He is called a prince, for that reason. His father was a comrade of Mao. The family pressure was a bit too much. There was legacy.

He did marry the most famous singer in his country, did he not?

He is really into literature. He is a huge fan of Hemingway, for example. He has sensibilities. You can't become a movie star unless you have deep sensibilities. Al Pacino calls himself an "emotional athlete."

In a freer China, a more comfortable China, Xi Jinping would have been a movie star.

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