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Obama Is For Democracy, Except When He's Not

6:52 PM, Jun 29, 2009 • By MICHAEL GOLDFARB
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From Obama's presser today with Uribe:

Over the last several years, I think both Republicans and Democrats in the United States have recognized that we always want to stand with democracy, even if the results don't always mean that the leaders of those countries are favorable to the United States -- and that is a tradition we want to continue.

Forget Iran, since the left will make the ludicrous case that Obama was standing with democracy -- just very quietly, so as not to undermine the protests (which have since been ruthlessly crushed by a regime crackdown). Let's revisit Obama's AIPAC speech from last summer -- before he threw Israel under the bus:

We must isolate Hamas unless and until they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel's right to exist, and abide by past agreements. There is no room at the negotiating table for terrorist organizations. That is why I opposed holding elections in 2006 with Hamas on the ballot. The Israelis and the Palestinian Authority warned us at the time against holding these elections. But this administration pressed ahead, and the result is a Gaza controlled by Hamas, with rockets raining down on Israel.

So Obama is for democracy always, no matter the result, unless he can score cheap political points. And of course, Obama was for the Gaza election ("Part of the opportunity here with this upcoming election is to consolidate behind a single government with a single authority that can then negotiate as a reliable partner with Israel.") before he was against it.

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