‘Sore’ point

Don’t take my word for it that GOP lawmakers are essentially lying when they say that Barack Obama called Israel a “sore” in his interview with the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg.

Here’s what Goldberg had to say:

Mr. Boehner, I’m sure, is a terribly busy man, with many burdensome responsibilities, so I have to assume that he simply didn’t have time to read the entire Obama interview, or even the entire paragraph, or even a single clause. If he had, of course, he would have seen that Obama was clearly calling the Middle East conflict, and not Israel, a sore. Why, there’s no one who would disagree that the Middle East conflict is a “sore,” is there?

I have no doubt that Mr. Boehner will issue a correction to his press release in which he states the obvious, which is that Obama expressed – in twelve different ways – his support for Israel to me.

Goldberg’s fellow Atlantic blogger, Andrew Sullivan was harsher: “Republican operatives can’t let go of old politics. Boehner and Cantor just flat out lie about Obama’s interview about Israel. Yes: flat out lie.” [UPDATE: Jake Tapper of ABC News also took issue with the the Republican comments.]

And, yes, it’s predictable, but still… if you’re keeping score, you might want to know what the National Jewish Democratic Council had to say:

NJDC Lashes Out at Boehner Comments Against Obama

Washington, D.C. – Following a press release by House Minority Leader John Boehner which falsely questioned Senator Barack Obama’s position on Israel, the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) released the following statement from Executive Director Ira N. Forman:

House Minority Leader John Boehner comments were outrageous assertions and it is disappointing Boehner would stoop to this level.

John McCain and his conservative allies, like Boehner, continue to propagate a smear campaign against Obama and this is just the latest effort to spread blatant lies.

I have one question for Boehner, do you actually read the press releases that organizations like “The Freedom Project” release in your name? No rational American with a reading ability at or above the sixth grade level could possible read Jeffrey Goldberg’s, recent interview in the Atlantic with Obama and come to the conclusion that Obama does not deeply support the state of Israel let alone that he believes that Israel is a constant sore that infects American foreign policy.

Numerous journalists have recently reported on the spreading panic that is infecting the House GOP caucus as a result of one electoral setback after another. Small wonder that the GOP now finds itself in such dire straits when their House Minority Leader has to resort to such shameless misrepresentations of Obama’s record of support for Israel.