JG: Do you think that Israel is better off today than it was eight years ago? JM: I think Israel, in many respects, is stronger economically, their political process shows progress – when there is corruption, they punish people who are corrupt. The economy is booming, they have a robust democracy, to say the least. Bin Laden has not limited his hatred and desire to destroy the United States to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, though Israel is one of the objects of his jihadist attitude. What you’re trying to do is get me to criticize the Bush Administration. JG: No, I’m not, what I’m — JM: Yeah, you are, but I’ll try to answer your question. Because of the rise of Islamic extremism, because of the failure of human rights and democracy in the Middle East, or whether there are a myriad of challenges we face in the Middle East, all of them severe, all of them pose a threat to the existence to the state of Israel, including and especially the Iranians, who have as a national policy the destruction of the state of Israel, something they’ve been dedicated to since before President Bush came to office.
If Israel is less well off than it was eight years ago, a principal cause is because the unqualified bumbler Ehud Olmert is now running the country. But you’d have a tough time making the case that Olmert’s elevation under tragic circumstances was Bush’s fault. More from the interview:
JG: What is the difference between an American president negotiating with Ahmadinejad and Ehud Olmert negotiating with the Syrians? JM: You don’t see him sitting down opposite Bashar, do you? (Bashar al-Assad is president of Syria.) I mean, that’s the point here. It was perfectly fine that Ryan Crocker spoke with the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad. The point is you don’t give legitimacy by lending prestige of a face-to-face meeting, with no preconditions. JG: But Obama has shifted off that position. JM: Sure, and the next time he sees where he’s wrong, maybe he’ll shift again. The point is is that he doesn’t understand. Look, in the primary, he was unequivocal in his statements. And now he realizes that it’s not a smart thing to say. I didn’t say he wasn’t a smart politician.
And some more:
JG: A final question: Senator Obama talked about how his life was influenced by Jewish writers, Philip Roth, Leon Uris. How about you? JM: There’s Elie Wiesel, and Victor Frankl. I think about Frankl all the time. “Man’s Search for Meaning” is one of the most profound things I’ve ever read in my life. And maybe on a little lighter note, “War and Remembrance” and “Winds of War” are my two absolute favorite books. I can tell you that one of my life’s ambitions is to meet Herman Wouk.* “War and Remembrance” for me, it’s the whole thing. Then there’s Joe Lieberman, who lives a life of his religion, and who does it in the most humble way. JG: Not a big Philip Roth fan? JM: No, I’m not. Leon Uris I enjoyed. Victor Frankl, that’s important. I read it before my captivity. It made me feel a lot less sorry for myself, my friend. A fundamental difference between my experience and the Holocaust was that the Vietnamese didn’t want us to die. They viewed us as a very valuable asset at the bargaining table. It was the opposite in the Holocaust, because they wanted to exterminate you. Sometimes when I felt sorry for myself, which was very frequently, I thought, “This is nothing compared to what Victor Frankl experienced.”
Finally! A presidential candidate who publicly recognizes Philip Roth’s pretentious drivel for what it is. I’ve never felt closer to or more supportive of the McCain campaign. Far more important are the differences that emerge between McCain and Obama in their respective interviews with Goldberg. Even when it comes to something as seemingly off-topic as favorite Jewish authors, the fact that one candidate has led a life that has prepared him for the presidency while the other has led a life that has prepared him to be an English professor becomes obvious. Still more noteworthy is Obama’s well-documented inability to say a sentence sans teleprompter without displaying his shallow understanding of global affairs. Hence his simplistic recitals of tedious liberal tropes, e.g., putting an over-emphasis on the Palestinian issue. McCain, on the other hand, knows what he’s talking about, e.g., he realizes that “if the Israeli-Palestinian issue were decided tomorrow, we would still face the enormous threat of radical Islamic extremism.” I’ll make a prediction: At some point some of Obama’s serial mistatements but more importantly his serial shallowness will cause even his champions to publicly wonder whether he knows enough to adequately carry out the responsibilities of the position he seeks. *Much to my surprise, Herman Wouk is indeed still alive, a spry 93 year-old currently living in Palm Springs. Not to be indelicate, but if McCain is serious about meeting Wouk, there’s no time like the present.
