Free Republic

This general election campaign is getting off to a rollicking start. From McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds: It was remarkable to see Barack Obama’s hysterical diatribe in response to a speech in which his name wasn’t even mentioned. These are serious issues that deserve a serious debate, not the same tired partisan rants we heard today from Senator Obama. Senator Obama has pledged to unconditionally meet with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- who pledges to wipe Israel off the map, denies the Holocaust, sponsors terrorists, arms America’s enemies in Iraq and pursues nuclear weapons. What would Senator Obama talk about with...

The blowup over President Bush's remarks to Israel's parliament equating talks with rogue regimes to appeasement will be front and center another day. Barack Obama, who saw himself as the target of Bush's criticism, is expected to directly rebut the president later today at a campaign event in South Dakota. His top foreign policy adviser, Susan Rice, said this morning on MSNBC that Obama will deliver a "very vigorous response to what was an outrageous, unprecedented, and divisive attack from President Bush yesterday which was patently dishonest." She argued that Republican presidents, including Ronald Reagan, have talked to renegade countries....

(President Bush's address) in the Knesset yesterday was an excellent (if imperfect speech). In parts it was great. Among these parts is its introduction setting forth the deep identification of the American people with the state of Israel: The alliance between our governments is unbreakable, yet the source of our friendship runs deeper than any treaty. It is grounded in the shared spirit of our people, the bonds of the Book, the ties of the soul. When William Bradford stepped off the Mayflower in 1620, he quoted the words of Jeremiah: "Come let us declare in Zion the word of...