Israel Wags the Dog

LobeLog has yet another interesting take on Sarah Palin's candidacy, this time prompted by her meeting with AIPAC.

Jim Lobe, the Washington Bureau Chief of IPS, writes:

MSNBC and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) are reporting that Gov. Palin met this afternoon with the board of directors of the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Sen. Joe Lieberman to, in the words of one McCain campaign official cited by MSNBC, put “the American Jewish community at ease over her understanding of US-Middle East relations.” It’s worth noting that Palin, who has obviously been completely off-limits to reporters since she was rolled out as McCain’s running-mate in Dayton Friday, stiffed a reception in her honor sponsored by none other than Phyllis Schlafly a couple hours later. (One wonders what other lobbies have tried to arrange a meeting with Palin in the last 96 hours and with what success.)

Obviously the first lobby Palin meets with after the announcement of her candidacy would be AIPAC, which is usually referred to more casually as "The Jewish Lobby."

One of Lobe's commenters summed up my own reaction quite succinctly:

The Israeli-U.S. relationship has evolved into a classic case of the tail wagging the dog.