Politics: Check the old box
As he began his second term, Obama had a problem he needed to fix. His own naive effort to get Netanyahu to freeze settlement growth had collided with the will of the tough-minded Israeli prime minister. Obama's detached, emotionless style and Bibi's previously existing suspicions only exacerbated tensions. These factors combined to produce one of the most dysfunctional pairs in the history of the U.S.-Israeli relationship.
That broken personal relationship was both unnecessary and politically harmful. It gave Republicans a hammer to hit the president, made Democrats nervous, and just wasn't good for business all around -- particularly if Democrats wanted a chance to take back the House in 2014. And so, even though presidential visits by sitting presidents are rare --only four of 11 have visited Israel since 1948 -- going to Israel early in his term was smart and necessary.
Policy: Manage the new challenges
The trip was smart policy too. Right now the Middle East is as complex, angry, dysfunctional, broken, and impervious to American influence as I've ever seen it. Americans are sick of the region and don't care much about it now, but things can get much worse.
The president needed to get an oar deeper in the water, to manage things as best he can. After all, it's not 2009 anymore. The clock's ticking down on Obama's presidency -- before you know it, the reality of lame-duck status will undermine his effectiveness.
As it stands now, in addition to Syria, Obama could be the president on whose watch two catastrophes befall the region. First, Iran could get the bomb, or he could go to war to stop it. Second, the window for a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue could slam shut. Whether Obama can actually fix either of these problems isn't the point. If he's to have any chance of dealing with them effectively, he needs to develop a much more functional tie with Netanyahu, who will play a central role in each.
That effort began last week, and by all appearances was largely successful. The president clearly bought time and space from Bibi for U.S. diplomacy with Iran, and in not pushing the settlements issue, may have built up some credibility to press the prime minister later on the bigger issues. Orchestrating the call between Netanyahu and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a nice touch to boot.
Whether Obama's reset and his newfound popularity in Israel can help convert Bibi to the president's view of the world -- that it's necessary to use diplomacy with the mullahs and launch negotiations with the Palestinians to promote peace -- is an arguable proposition. After all, this isn't one hand clapping. Israel is only one actor -- no matter how vital. There are these other people called Palestinians and Iranians too with their own politics, agendas, and needs.
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