Tapper gets an interview:
First of all, I’m not clear on what the difference is between preconditions and preparations. I’m just a knuckle-dragging warmonger, and perhaps I don’t perfectly understand the distinction, so someone will have to spell it out for me. Preparations sounds like scheduling, catering, and protocol, i.e. there is a huge difference, because preparations are meaningless. Unless, of course, the preparations consist of making sure A’jad doesn’t blurt out something about wiping Israel off the map in the middle of the summit–but that sounds suspiciously like a precondition to me. Second, Susan Rice has clearly been walking back Obama’s statements. Credit to Obama for standing firm, but he’s making a liar out of Rice. It’s unseemly to have somebody out there muddying the waters on such a crucial issue. He should put her on a tighter leash instead of accusing McCain of distortion. After all, there is nothing here to distort–Obama wants to meet with Ahmadinejad face to face and without preconditions, McCain does not. Let’s have that debate. Both sides are taking a stand on principle, and the outcome could not be more important to this country’s national security.
