This morning, Fox & Friends had a revelation--that a recent photograph of President Obama and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas shaking hands could be evidence that Obama is “picking sides” in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Their evidence? Obama didn't take a picture with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visited the White House in March. OK, they didn't come to this theory on their own--Charles Krauthammer first floated it on last night's Special Report, but nonetheless, his analysis blew the Fox & Friends crew's minds. Guest host Alyson Camerota asked: “Some people are wondering, is this a message--a picture speaks a 1,000 words--is the President sending a message on which side he's on?”
Hey, she's just asking!
It seems rather convenient that Fox is focusing on a March White House meeting between Netanyahu and Obama, about which the right complained bitterly at the time that Obama “snubbed” Netanyahu by having a closed door meeting with the Israeli PM, thus denying him the opportunity of a handshake photo op.
But it's not as if the two haven't had their photo-ops:
For what's its worth, during his March visit, Netanyahu had a two-hour closed-door meeting with Obama, as well as a dinner with Vice President Biden and National Security Advisor Gen. Jim Jones. At the time, White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod responded to critics who alleged Obama gave Netanyahu “the cold shoulder,” saying, “This was not about formalities. This was not about a ceremonial meeting. This was a working meeting. We have a deep, abiding interest in Israel's security. And we believe the peace process is essential to that. And we are doing everything we can to move that process forward.”
From the June 10 broadcast of Fox News' Fox & Friends: