Krauthammer: ‘Obama Loathes Netanyahu More than Any Other World Leader’

"It was a big victory for Netanyahu personally and I think the reaction of the administration is now reaching levels where it has become unseemly. The pettiness, the petulance with which they are discussing the election. The presidential spokesperson congratulates Israel on holding an election rather than, as did the Prime Minister of Canada, of the U.K., congratulating the winner.

Look, it’s clear that Obama loathes Netanyahu more than any other world leader, meaning more than the Ayatollah in Iran or Putin in Russia, and he did everything he could to unseat him. But he failed, and I think the message here is this was an election between Bibi and Obama. That was on the ballot, because Obama was essentially saying ‘If you want to reconcile with the United States, you want your ally behind you, you are going to get rid of Bibi.’ That worked in ousting Prime Minister  Shamir in the ’90s. It worked in defeating Bibi in 1998. The regard with which Israelis hold Obama and the fear they have of the dealing with Iran is such that Bibi won.

That’s the message. He wasn’t speaking out of place in the Congress. He was speaking on behalf of Israelis, and that is what I think Obama is having trouble swallowing."