Forgive me if I don't join the parade currently marching down Constitution Avenue.
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Barack Obama's recent trip to Israel was indeed a brilliant success. Low -- or perhaps more precisely, no -- expectations helped. Had it occurred earlier, we might have avoided the soap opera that has passed for U.S.-Israeli relations during the president's first term.
Powered by terrific speeches and wonderful visuals, Obama succeeded in recasting his image in Israel -- and America too -- as a genuinely pro-Israeli leader. He even managed to convert his press availability with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a more relaxed event, which could have convinced the casual observer that these two men actually like one another.
But before we get sucked down the rabbit hole into some wondrous Middle Eastern fantasy world, let's take a collective deep breath. Until we have a lot more information, it might be better to see the president's inaugural visit to Israel as more about managing old business and checking boxes than as a determined leap into the wonderful world of two-state diplomacy.
A woman I met at the Baker Institute in Houston last Friday got it right. "That Obama isn't gonna waste a lot of chits on the Palestinian issue," she said, in smart and direct Texas style. Maybe he won't. But if he does try, he's going to need a much better sense from Israelis and Palestinians that he has a chance to succeed.
Obama's no fool. He's a busy guy with a full domestic agenda. He didn't make up with Bibi only to go to war with him again over the peace process -- unless there's a real chance to get something big done.
For now, the president's trip to Israel still has the ring of a "been there, done that" exercise. And here's why.
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