BRAK AND BLUE: Israel is rich and can go to China or Russia to buy weapons if we refused, they'd rather keep us reasonably happy (they'd surely rather buy their stuff from us since it's better, and get our help in other ways) but they don't have to. And we don't want an unfettered Israel if we can avoid it.

I’d prefer that both presidential candidates were younger and sharper, but I don’t buy “singularly uncomfortable.” We’ve had old, questionably physically and/or mentally fit presidents before. I kind of feel like one candidate being entirely lawless is more singular.

The special counsel’s report and President Biden’s performance at a last-minute news conference on Thursday night placed his age, the singularly uncomfortable subject looming over his re-election bid, back at the center of America’s political conversation. nyti.ms/3uvl4a4

Also, with both candidates being elderly, one becomes more concerned about the people they hire to run the country. Biden’s people will be at worst, to riff on P.J. O’Rourke, wrong within normal parameters, while Trump’s people will be historically sociopathic. Not a close call.

Or to put it another way, Biden will pick people who ameliorate his foibles, while Trump will pick people who enable them.

To a degree. Who is offsetting Biden’s acquiescence in Netanyahu’s savaging of Gaza?

The administration is doing things (Israel is big mad about them bringing in Leahy Act inquiries on arms transfers, for instance, and the move against violent settlers too) they just aren't loud things because they're trying to thread an impossible needle to maintain diplomacy.

I kinda understand. But who is more dependent on that relationship?

Israel is rich and can go to China or Russia to buy weapons if we refused, they'd rather keep us reasonably happy (they'd surely rather buy their stuff from us since it's better, and get our help in other ways) but they don't have to. And we don't want an unfettered Israel if we can avoid it.

I hope eventually the Administration's good work will come to light.

Israel hasn’t seemed to be particularly fettered lately. I thought we *give* Israel a lot of their weapons. And Russia seems to be having trouble supplying itself in Ukraine.

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