Everybody is saying no to the American President these days. And it’s not just that they’re saying no, it’s the way they’re saying no, too. The Saudis twice said no to his request for normalization gestures towards Israel [Obama's meeting with the Saudi King in Saudi Arabia, and in Washington DC at meetings with Hilary Clinton]. Who says no to the American President twice? What must they think of Obama in the desert Kingdom?

The North Koreans said no to repeated attempts at talks by test-launching long-range missiles in April; Russia and China keep on saying no to tougher sanctions on Iran; the Iranians keep saying no to offers of talks by saying they’re willing to talk about everything except a halt to uranium enrichment; Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority is saying no by refusing to meet with Netanyahu until Israel freezes all settlement construction; the Israelis said no by refusing to agree to a settlement freeze, or even a settlement moratorium until and unless the Arabs ante up their normalization gestures. Which brings us back to the original Saudi no.

The only thing Obama did manage to get Bibi and Abbas to say yes to is a photo op at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NY. Mazeltov.

So why is everyone saying no to Obama? Continue reading →