YNET NEWS: Embarrassing flattery showered on Bush shows nature of Israel’s elite
United States President George W. Bush’s latest visit to Israel can teach us many things. We discovered, for example, that he is a very likeable man, yet it is unclear how he became the leader of a global superpower. We could also see that Israel’s government elite is in love with this likeable man.
Bush is a typical example of the give-Israelis-everything-they want approach, which rewards American presidents with popularity even when they cause quite a bit of damage (think back to Bill Clinton’s mediocre performance at the Camp David summit and its grim results.)
The Israeli Presidential Conference attended by Bush could also teach us much about ourselves. What was more conspicuous than anything else was the obsequiousness in the face of the American president. It was not the Israeli gratitude in and of itself that caused me discomfort. It is indeed possible that a leader who fails in one area does significant and appropriate things in other areas. For example, Bush has a very impressive record of offering aid to Africa – much more impressive than that of his popular predecessor.
Yet what caused my sense of discomfort (not to mention slight nausea) was the absence of any limits, or what I would call lack of self respect. The flattery showered on Bush was embarrassing and exceedingly exaggerated – bowing down to the ground where a handshake would do. We Love You, George >>> By Aviad Kleinberg | May 22, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)
