And an arrogant ignoramus as well. You tell me how what Obama said is in any way related to what Netanyahu said:

In an interview with veteran American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg for The Atlantic, Obama described one particularly charged meeting in which Netanyahu “launched into something of a lecture about the dangers of the brutal region in which he lives,” i.e. the Middle East.

Obama said he felt Netanyahu was being condescending towards him, and responded: “Bibi, you have to understand something. I’m the African American son of a single mother, and I live here, in this house. I live in the White House. I managed to get elected president of the United States. You think I don’t understand what you’re talking about, but I do.”

Seriously, what is the relationship between what Netanyahu said and what Obama replied? Indeed, what evidence is there that Obama understands anything of importance about the Middle East, or about anything else for that matter? Read the whole article. What comes across is how out of depth he is about some of the most difficult issues any president must deal with. Even more what comes across is how little he cares whether he causes harm to Israel. Seven years down and one to go, but it will still be a close-run thing.

Trump’s opening statement at today’s debate. It’s time to come together on the right.

It’s from Sarah Palin’s Facebook Page where you can find all of the links to the points she makes.

GOP Majority Voters in Primary are Wayyyyyy Beneath Cruz, So Says Cruz

* Calling GOP frontrunner supporters “low information” disengaged voters, Ted Cruz’s insinuation reeks of all the reasons America knows “the status quo has got to go.” The arrogance of career politicians is something at which the rest of us chuckle, but Cruz’s latest dig strays from humorous into downright nasty. Cruz is right, though – independent, America-first, commonsense conservatives supporting Donald Trump ARE “low information” when it comes to having any information on Cruz’s ability to expand the conservative movement, beat Hillary Clinton, unify and lead the nation.

* Where’s information on any Cruz success whilst in his short, half-term U.S. Senate seat, proving his resume’s advantage over another career politicians’s lawyerly executive inexperience that includes never having created a single private sector job, but boasting of his constitutional law teacher creds? (Remember America experimented with that resume before; how’d that work out for the country?)

* Where’s info on his reasoning in inviting more illegal aliens to flood our porous borders by enticing families with benefits and literal gifts (like teddy bears and soccer balls)?

* Any info on why he won’t denounce his highest-profile campaign buddy, despite Glenn Beck’s proclamation that he “hates” America’s innocent victims of 9/11 and calls the families crybabies? nor hold accountable his campaign manager for abhorrent tactics that mirror Alinsky’s Politics of Personal Destruction?

* Info on why he continues to stand on stage with that most prominent supporter who slurs millions of patriotic Americans supporting the GOP frontrunner, calling them Nazi “brown shirts”?

* Info on consistency with his big endorsement this week, as Carly tells it like it is so very recently?

“Ted Cruz is just like any other politician. He says one thing in Manhattan, he says another thing in Iowa. He says whatever he needs to say to get elected, and then he’s going to do as he pleases. I think people are tired of a political class that promises much and delivers much of the same.” – Carly Fiorina 1/2/16

* Info on his support for his crony capitalists’ insistence that he fast-track Obama’s unbalanced trade agenda, then lied about it?

* Info on why he’s fine with increasing U.S. debt?

* Info on how it helps make America great again by arrogantly disenfranchising this Primary season’s majority voters who are fed-up, inspired, optimistic, and engaged? How does it help unify the party or the nation when that holier-than-thou narcissism manifests itself through negative, biting, deceptive tactics… when he’s had so many opportunities to disavow his campaign’s shenanigans and apologize for his own?

The information we’ve sought is nonexistent, thus “low information voters” comprising the GOP majority support Cruz staying in the Legislative branch, while hopefully gaining understanding of the private sector’s need to reduce the big government he’s a big part of.

Trump’s energized, positive campaign has led to this record setting stat: of all 24 states that have voted so far, ALL smashed previous GOP turnout records! 4,347,317 votes nationwide for Trump already. Now THAT’S “enlarging the tent.” Any info, Ted, on where you think that “disengaged” momentum will take us?

A couple of stories, mostly straws in a wind that will become more hurricane-like after January 2017. First this one, Obama: Trump’s rise not my fault. A Trump presidency will be due to Obama, worst president in American history that he is. But the whiny sot is already recognising that the history books may not end up treating him all that well:

Some well-known Republicans have said, however, Obama bears responsibility for voters’ affinity to Trump.

“After seven years of the cool, weak and endlessly nuanced ‘no drama Obama,’ voters are looking for a strong leader who speaks in short, declarative sentences,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed this month.

“Middle-class incomes are stagnant, and radical Islam is on the march across the Middle East,” the former 2016 candidate wrote. “No wonder voters are responding to someone who promises to make America great again.”

But the more interesting story is how difficult it is to be in public life and criticise Obama. This story is noteworthy because someone actually tried to say what they really thought: Mike Ditka is replaced on ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown one week after calling Obama the ‘worst president we’ve ever had’. You have to appreciate that he is one of the greatest football players in American history but not even someone with his name and background could withstand the instant blowback:

Mike Ditka will be replaced as a panelist on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, it has been revealed.

The announcement came less than a week after Ditka, both a former player and coach for the Chicago Bears, revealed he believed Barack Obama was the worst president ‘we’ve ever had’.

Ditka, who has been a main panelist for the ESPN show since 2006, said Obama was a ‘fine man’ but not a leader when he went on WABC’S The Bernie & Sid Show last Thursday. . . .

‘He’s not a leader. This country needs leadership. It needs direction. It needs somebody that steps up front.’

You cannot say this now in the United States but soon you will be and everyone will be saying it. Worst president in history, and this is even said by people who remember Jimmy Carter.

And now we can add this which is almost definitive, although it is only about Obama’s one and only “accomplishment”: NPR and Harvard say Obamacare is a complete failure. Add that to the debt, deficits and unemployment and you have pretty well summed up the domestic disaster he has overseen.

Maurice Newman has a post this morning on What the media missed: if not Donald Trump, it’d be another. It is about as pro-Trump as you are likely to find in Australia – aside from here. It’s not as if he says this is the man to vote for because he is far and away the best person for the job. It’s more tepid, but still:

What the mainstream media misses is that a very large number of Americans, and especially Trump supporters, have had enough of the establishment’s political dynasties.

They reject political correctness, illegal migration and the crony capitalists who use Wall Street to make a fortune at their expense, particularly when their incomes are basically frozen. They believe the government manipulates the unemployment numbers and, as they struggle to find and hold permanent jobs, they know welfare cheats and disability fraudsters are gaming the system with impunity. They see government waste everywhere and think Obamacare is a failure. They resent President Barack Obama’s condescending lectures and his use of moral equivalence when comparing Islam to Christianity.

They are mad as hell.

It would be better if he said “we” are mad as hell, but the idea is right. If you want someone who says all that, then you have to go to John Voit.

It is true that we Americans have been part of Donald Trump’s life for many years. We were part of his weddings. We were there to see all his children’s births. We were part of his great shows: Miss Universe, The Apprentice — and all know, without a doubt, his life has been an open book.

I, Jon Voight, can say, without hesitation, that Donald is funny, playful, and colorful, but most of all, he is honest. When he decided to run for president, I know he did it with a true conviction to bring this country back to prosperity. He is the only one who can do it. No frills, no fuss, only candid truths.

There are many Republicans fighting to keep him from winning the Republican nomination. You know why? Because he has no bull to sell, and everyone will discover the bull most politicians spew out is for their own causes and benefits. They never dreamed they would be losing control.

I am very disappointed at the talk show hosts, also spewing out lies and propaganda against Donald. Why, I wonder? The only thing I can think of is he represents a form of freedom none of them ever saw before, and they are bewildered about it, and frightened about it.

I pray all Americans who have seen and felt the meltdown of America with the Obama years, to please fight for Donald Trump. He will not let us down. I pray for all good people to see clearly what faces us now. The right vote will save our nation.

And the wrong vote will continue America’s decline, and ours as well.

For these people it is life and death so they have a reason to get this one right. And this is the story: Poll: 61% of Israeli Jews say Trump is Good for Israel.

A new poll by the Independent Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University reveals that Jewish Israelis prefer a Republican to be the next U.S. president — and that 61% say that Donald Trump is friendly to Israel.

If the other 39% really believe the opposite they are also unlikely to know which way is up.

There is now a battle for the soul of conservatism, whether our Western way of life can be maintained, or whether we are going to be swamped by ideologues and profiteers at the cost of how we have lived. I keep using the image of progressive internationalists as the enemy, you know, the one-world, open-borders, the-nation-as-a-bus-depot sort of people. and it is a shared vision of both sides of politics, the Democrats more openly, with the Republicans the ones who shout, whatever you do, don’t throw us into the briar patch. Which is why we find How the GOP Insiders Plan to Steal the Nod from Trump.

Despite a growing string of victories in the Republican primaries, the DC-Wall Street cabal that has dominated the GOP since 1988 has no intention of letting the billionaire real estate mogul be nominated. None other than Karl Rove has insisted the stop-Trump effort is not too late and can succeed.

A new superPAC has dumped $10 million dollars into blistering negative TV ads against Trump in the last three days. The Koch brothers and their associates deny funding the effort but they denials are questionable at best. The New York Times reported Sunday that the Rubio and Kasich campaigns are now openly planning on a ‘brokered convention” to stop Trump in the back rooms in Cleveland. The New York Daily News reported that Barbara Bush has vowed revenge against Trump for ending the “low energy” campaign of her son Jeb, the anointed one and that the Bush clan is all-in in the effort to stop Trump. The News reported that Jeb may transfer the $25 to $30 million in SuperPAC funds he has left to an anti-Trump effort.

Trump thus not only must campaign against the Democrats, he will have to campaign against many in “his own” party who do not seem to be interested in backing someone who really could win it all in a big way. There is a realignment of politics happening, as many of us are finally waking up to the fact that the water has continually been heating and is almost on the boil.

UPDATE: If you are interested in a true understanding of Donald Trump, read The Donald Trump Playboy interview from 25 years ago. Long but brilliant. You will learn a lot, and not just about him. Here is a sample, but you owe it to yourself to read it all.

Sometimes you sound like a Presidential candidate stirring up the voters.

I don’t want the Presidency. I’m going to help a lot of people with my foundation-and for me, the grass isn’t always greener.

But if the grass ever did look greener, which political party do you think you’d be more comfortable with?

Well, if I ever ran for office, I’d do better as a Democrat than as a Republican-and that’s not because I’d be more Republican-and that’s not because I’d be more liberal, because I’m conservative. But the working guy would elect me. He likes me. When I walk down the street, those cabbies start yelling out their windows.

He wasn’t running for a thing but described himself as a conservative. What more could anyone want?

As it will appear to us who live just this side of the dateline – Tuesday in the US is already Wednesday here. This is the lay of the land:

CNN: TRUMP AT 49%…
Finds Ally in Delegate Selection System…
Small Biz Owners Say Donald Top Choice…
VIDEO: Reporter Grabs Secret Service Agent Throat at Trump Rally…
ICE Union On Gang of Eight: ‘It’s as if criminals wrote it themselves’…
Rubio Doesn’t Realize Energy Policy He Supports Already Been Enacted…
INGRAHAM: The GOP Establishment Suicide…
Republican Senator Believes More Candidates Will Enter…

And for those who are wondering what Hillary is up to:

Clinton Rape Accuser Thanks Lady Gaga For ‘Overwhelming Performance’…
WASH POST LEAD TUES: Hillary prepares to take on Trump in general election…
NYT PAGE ONE: Plan to Defeat Him…
HILLARY HEADACHE: AIDES IN CROSSHAIRS AFTER LAST DOC DUMP…
Cheryl Mills still has top-secret status despite FBI probe…
GOVT WITHHOLDS MORE EMAILS, INCLUDING OBAMA CORRESPONDENCE…
1,800 Reasons Why Controversy Is Far From Over…
STILL IGNORING TRAVELING PRESS…
What if Hill is indicted?
BEGALA: Enthusiasm gap ‘keeps me up at night’…

And what amazes me more than anything else are the number of people supposedly on the right who would vote for Hillary ahead of Trump. And for added interest, there is this Why they hate Trump written by someone who doesn’t much seem to like Trump either. But he does include this which is much to the point about a lot of things:

“BLITZER: You said this about the ongoing conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians – I’m quoting you now: ‘Let me be sort of a neutral guy. I don’t want to say whose fault it is, I don’t think it helps.’

“TRUMP: Right.

“BLITZER: Here’s the question. How do you remain neutral when the U.S. considers Israel to be America’s closest ally in the Middle East?

“TRUMP: Well, first of all, I don’t think they do under President Obama because I think he’s treated Israel horribly, all right? I think he’s treated Israel horribly. I was the grand marshall down 5th Avenue a number of years ago for the Israeli Day Parade, I have very close ties to Israel. I’ve received the Tree of Life Award and many of the greatest awards given by Israel.

“As president, however, there’s nothing that I would rather do to bring peace to Israel and its neighbors generally. And I think it serves no purpose to say that you have a good guy and a bad guy.

“Now, I may not be successful in doing it. It’s probably the toughest negotiation anywhere in the world of any kind. OK? But it doesn’t help if I start saying, “I am very pro-Israel, very pro, more than anybody on this stage.” But it doesn’t do any good to start demeaning the neighbors, because I would love to do something with regard to negotiating peace, finally, for Israel and for their neighbors.

“And I can’t do that as well – as a negotiator, I cannot do that as well if I’m taking … sides.”

Whatever it is, it is not anti-Israel and does sound like someone who might know a thing or to about negotiation. But the last word will go to Steve Hayward at Powerline, Apologia Pro Vita Trump. He really is sorry that it has come to this, but this is what it has come to:

I’m sure lots of voters don’t think Trump has what it takes to be a great president. But he is the ideal person to disrupt a political class that deserves a hard smash in the mouth. This is why Trump is going to win.

And then, of course, there are others who do think he has what it takes to be a great president indeed. I can only hope we are going to find out for ourselves over the next eight years.

[My great thanks to Autumn Baroque for pointing me at so many of these articles.]