Free Republic

A newly released WikiLeaks cable quotes Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling a U.S. diplomat of Israelis’ frustration with the peace process. Surprisingly, however, Dermer didn’t focus primarily on Palestinian behavior. Rather, he charged, “the Israeli public is skeptical regarding the benefits of returning to negotiations” because “all the GOI [government of Israel] has received in return for its efforts [to date] was a ‘slap-down from the international community.’”

The majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, refused on Tuesday night to provide any details about the preliminary agreement among a group of 10 Democratic senators to resolve a bitter dispute over a proposed government-run insurance plan, or “public option.” But in a brief interview as he climbed into his black S.U.V. to head home for the night, Mr. Reid insisted that the proposal could unify his caucus, even as he acknowledged that most Senate Democrats had not seen it yet.