Bibi's Palin

By Jason Gold

Give John McCain credit where credit is due. The so-called "maverick" and ideological Liberal/Independent in Republican clothing, his dance to the mythical center (left, in reality) was clearly not working and his campaign was floundering. In one bold stroke he did what he needed to do. In picking Sarah Palin as his running mate, McCain re-energized the core conservative base of the Republican party and suddenly vaulted ahead of Obama in the polls. You can talk all you want about Palin's appeal to women and her folksy style but she is what McCain is not; a card-carrying conservative to the core who has the Republican DNA that McCain clearly lacks.

Bibi is Israel's John McCain. Bibi heads Likud the largest party in Israel, the nationalist right leaning party that is truly a "mini-Israel" but Bibi clearly lacks Likud DNA. Evidence? Let's go back to the general elections of 2005. Political experts weigh in and state that Bibi will win if he leans more rightward. So what does he do? He plunges ahead in an attempt to find Israel's mythical center, deviates the Likud to the left on all national/security issues in order to clone the Likud in Kadima's style. It's a master strategy and a winner...., for Kadima as Ehud Olmert a shy(ster) lawyer and empty suit wins the PM chair as head of the one-issue disengagement party (or as it has now come to be known "the expulsion-to-save Sharon's rear-end-from indictment" party) while his mentor cools his body and brain in vegetative hibernation.

Fast forward to 2008. As Tzipi Livni will now attempt to form a government that will give away everything and the kitchen sink (no matter what Shas says), Bibi clearly is intent on proving me right when I tell his supporters he will never change. He attempts to shove leftists such as Dan Meridor and Uzi Dayan as well as pseudo-settler and token dati Jew Yechiel Leiter (who by the way was Bibi's masterful campaign manager in 2005) onto the Likud eklection list as well as having about 3700 people that are registered for both Likud and Kadima in order to again move leftward towards that mythical Israeli center. Now why is Bibi doing this when again political experts are telling him to move right? Well, ironically enough, Bibi is trying to screw the Likud's Sarah Palin (in a political sense of course).

That's right folks, Bibi's and the Likud's version of Sarah Palin is none other than Moshe Feiglin of the Manhigut Yehudit faction in Likud. See Bibi watch Feiglin slowly climb the Likud ladder to become the second most powerful figure in Likud with an unswerving, incorruptible message of non-coercive faith-based leadership in order to form a true Jewish state. See Bibi watch Moshe's message take hold and begin to resonate with the Likudniks, both observant and secular. See Bibi try every dirty trick in the book to have Moshe thrown out of Likud or at least marginalized and shoved further down a list where no less a political expert than Ayala Chassan of Poplitika states that Moshe is within the top five of Likud. See Bibi know that Moshe will not be his poodle or cut any deals with him. See Bibi realize that it is Moshe and not he that truly possess the Likud DNA of leadership and despite political experts telling Bibi to stop the dirty tricks and embrace Feiglin rather than trying to hurt him as it will help both him and Likud, see Bibi not listen and repeat the mistakes of 2005 all over again.

You see Bibi, you have your own Sarah Palin right there in Likud in Moshe Feiglin. With him you could reach out to many people on the right and assure yourself and Likud victory in an upcoming election. But you also realize that Moshe will not toe the line for you in government and that you will not be able to silence him or buy him off. So you continue on your dysfunctional way and even talk of forming a unity government with the virtuoso pianist and part-time defense minister Ehud Barak, who except for the grace of Gd and Arafat's mind-numbing homicidal tendencies and Jew-hatred, almost succeeded in giving away most of Yesha and Jerusalem while acting as prime minister.

Unity governments never work Bibi but then again, why should I expect you to prove me wrong? You have not disappointed me yet. I cannot wait to see what happens if Livni does form a government and then if there is some relative peace and quiet. For then she will become media darling number one and you will sink into irrelevancy as the 80% of people who say they will vote for you but don't trust you, may just turn to someone else to lead the Likud. That someone? Your Sarah Palin, Bibi.