It must be difficult navigating Nicholas Kristof’s world. Judging by his New York Times column not only does he contend against imaginary, fantastical Israels and Gazas but a fantasy Joe Biden as well:
During the Darfur genocide and humanitarian crisis two decades ago, then-Senator Joe Biden passionately denounced then-President George W. Bush for failing to act decisively to ease suffering. Biden expressed outrage at China for selling weapons used to kill and maim civilians, and he urged me to write columns demanding the White House end needless wretchedness.
Darfur and Gaza are very different, of course, but I recall the senator’s compassion and urgency — and I wonder, where has that Joe Biden gone?
Gaza has become the albatross around Biden’s neck. It is his war, not just Benjamin Netanyahu’s. It will be part of his legacy, an element of his obituary, a blot on his campaign — and it could get worse if Gaza cascades into a full-blown famine or violent anarchy, or if a wider war breaks out involving Iran or Lebanon. An Israeli strike on a military base in central Iran early Friday underscored the danger of a bigger and more damaging conflict that could draw in the United States.
The only way it could “draw in the United States” is if we inserted ourselves into it. We have no defense treaty with Israel nor should we have. The entire source of Mr. Kristof’s fantasy Biden is in this phrase: “Darfur and Gaza are very different”. One of the things on which Joe Biden has been consistent is his full-throated support of Israel.
If, like me, you suspect that Biden’s support for Israel has been a matter of political expedience rather than conviction, the conundrum in which Mr. Biden and, more importantly, the Biden campaign find themselves becomes clearer. They are caught between the Scylla of Jewish support and the Charybdis of Muslim and progressive support.
