Imagine how powerful a message the American people would have sent to Iran had their two leading women politicians stood together during the presidential campaign against Ahmadinejad.
By GIL STERN STERN TROYclinton democratic convention 224.88(photo credit: AP)A JPost.com exclusive blog
Senator Hillary Clinton's refusal to attend the major rally called for Monday September 22 in New York against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's UN appearance is outrageous - as is the organizers' subsequent decision to disinvite Sarah Palin.
Back in August, Senator Clinton had agreed to attend. She abruptly pulled out this week because the Republican nominee Sarah Palin also agreed to appear. This move suggests that Senator Clinton hates Governor Palin and the Republicans more than she hates Iran's Ahmadinejad, despite his sexism, homophobia and advocacy of genocide.
The explanation Senator Clinton's office gave for the shift was petulant and ignorant. Apparently, Clinton felt blindsided by news of Palin's appearance. Palin's "attendance was news to us, and this was never billed to us as a partisan political event," Mrs. Clinton's spokesman, Philippe Reines, told the New York Times. "Senator Clinton will therefore not be attending." Upset by the controversy, a day later the organizers declared that no elected officials would attend, to keep the event "nonpartisan."
But as Senators John McCain and Barack Obama showed in their joint appearance on September 11, sometimes political rivals have to stop opposing each other, even during election season. Imagine how powerful a message the American people would have sent to Iran had their two leading women politicians stood together during the presidential campaign against Ahmadinejad and Iran's nuclear-hungry mullahocracy.
Of course, Palin's planned appearance was not simply altruistic and of course it had partisan aims. Politicians never stop prospecting for votes, especially during tough elections. And Palin's willingness to protest against Ahmadinejad was part of her quest for legitimacy in foreign policy as well as a play for Jewish votes.
Hillary Clinton's initial decision to attend the rally also was partisan as was her decision to boycott this important round in the popular fight against Iran. It is not surprising that Clinton recoiled at the thought of helping Palin's quest in any way, but it is disappointing that Clinton succumbed to those feelings, given the seriousness of the Iranian threat.
The organizers did not need the rally to be nonpartisan but bipartisan. A nonpartisan rally limits the guest list to apolitical people such as the writer Elie Wiesel, who is planning to lend his powerful moral voice to the effort. But the organizers initially understood that in the United States, power resides with partisan politicians.
The rally would have been most effective had it been bipartisan - with influential representatives from both sides of the aisle. It is surprising that Senator Clinton and then the organizers failed to understand that distinction between bipartisan and nonpartisan. It is also unrealistic for Senator Clinton to walk around pretending that Sarah Palin has not become America's newest political superstar.
The comic sensation of the week is a skit from NBC's "Saturday Night Live," with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler imitating Palin and Clinton, respectively. The skit imagines the two of them uniting to battle sexism. On Monday, life could have outdone art.
In fact, in addition to denouncing Ahmadinejad, Senator Hillary Clinton could have helped remind Americans of the many things that unite them, even during this campaign. Instead, Hillary Clinton played the partisan - and diminished her own moral standing in the process.
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store
