[CQ Politics] David Nather - Normally, there's not a lot of daylight between President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) - at least, not much that gets exposed to public view. On Monday, though, Reid released a public letter to Obama that seems designed to look more pro-Israel than Obama did in his speech in Cairo earlier this month. As the Senate majority leader, and as a former mentor who helped raise Obama's profile in the Senate, Reid can pick up the phone and call Obama anytime he wants. So it's fair to conclude that any public letter has some broader message Reid is trying to convey to the political world. In this case, Reid's letter is designed to put the spotlight back on the Palestinians' responsibilities in pursuing Middle East peace, and on the importance of stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Obama made some Jewish groups nervous in his Cairo speech with his comments about Israel's need to stop building settlements and Iran's right to pursue peaceful nuclear power.
2009-06-19 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive