Sen. John McCain says he is “convinced” Obama is letting his personal problems with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu get in the way of shared policy goals.
“Either that or he’s delusional. I’m not sure which,” the Arizona Republican said Sunday in an interview with CNN’s Gloria Borger on “State of the Union.”
“The President has his priorities so screwed up that it’s unbelievable,” McCain said.
Obama has taken issue with Netanyahu’s comments leading up to Israel’s election that there will be no Palestinian state on his watch. The President told The Huffington Post last week that it is now “going to be hard to find a path where people are seriously believing that negotiations are possible.”
McCain said Obama needs to move past his hurt feelings — both to work toward peace in the region and to cooperate with Israel in addressing Iran’s growing influence in the region.
“The least of your problems are what Bibi Netanyahu said in a political campaign,” McCain said. “It pales in significance to the situation which continues to erode throughout the Middle East and it puts America at risk.”
Democratic Rep. Steve Israel of New York said on policy issues, the United States and Israel is strong — so “who cares” about the “the hype and the drama of personalities.”
“What counts is, are we providing Israel with the critical security equipment technology that they need? And on that, we are,” Israel said on “State of the Union.”
What counts, and what we need to do, is get back to the fundamentals and stop with all the drama,” he said.
