Regardless of how idiotic and possibly (politically) treasonous the President's words were in Israel yesterday, it has certainly brought about opinion.

Larisa Alexandroyna of The Huffington Post was/is...incensed:

Dear Mr. Bush,

Your speech on the Knesset floor today was not only a disgrace; it was nothing short of treachery. Worse still, your exploitation of the Holocaust in a country carved out of the wounds of that very crime, in order to strike a low blow at American citizens whose politics differs from your own is unforgivable and unpardonable.

...and that is perfectly understandable of a United States citizen.  Outrage is healthy and keeps a person focused.

Hell, when an archeologist looks back on this era of our nation, it will hard to dispute her.

But, of course, we live here now, so perhaps a more...objective view is necessary:

No, (probably) even Bush's speechwriters aren't so crass as to make such a blindingly partisan move in the American electoral race when their dummy is acting as Head of State of both Democratic and Republican Americans at a major international event. We need to look beyond purely domestic motivations - and we'll find them in the aspirations and dreams of the neoconservative lobby and their Very Serious Person enablers in the media.

Cernig goes on with his/the theory - A Wink And A Nod - and there is certainly a point to be made there.

My own thought is that the people who have been driving the President so far probably thought they could get away with it - Look at the job they've been doing so far, right?  Speaking of the job done so far, I doubt that the Israelis would start OR stop a job that needed doing on the say-so of the United States.

So my verdict remains unchanged through the Knesset-times.

My president is an inarticulate speech-reader trying to live up to daddy's reputation.

...and daddy's reputation isn't all that clean, although admittedly unverified.