Obama: 'Anti-Semitism Is On the Rise'
President Obama, last night: President Obama warned of growing anti-Semitism in the United States and the world Wednesday as he honored two Americans and two Poles who helped save Jewish lives during World War II. "Here, tonight, we must confront the reality that around the world, anti-Semitism is on the rise. We cannot deny it," Obama said at a Holocaust remembrance ceremony at the Israeli embassy Wednesday night. He cited Jews fleeing European cities, attacks on Jewish centers in Mumbai, Indiaand Overland Park, Kan. and swastikas on college campuses. "When we see all that and more, we must not be silent," Obama said. So when the New York Times editorial board writes about GOP opponents of the Iran deal, and describes, "unseemly spectacle of lawmakers siding with a foreign leader against their own commander in chief . . ." should we raise our voices against the suggestion that agreeing with Bibi Netanyahu is somehow un-American? Or when the president suggests that pro-Israel members of Congress are driven by "donors" . . . The president said he understood the pressures that senators face from donors and others, but he urged the lawmakers to take the long view rather than make a move for short-term political gain, according to the senator. Mr. Menendez, who was seated at a table in front of the podium, stood up and said he took "personal offense." As Tablet wrote during the Iran-deal fight . . . Accusing senators and congressmen whose misgivings about the Iran deal are shared by a majority of the U.S. electorate of being agents of a foreign power, or of selling their votes to shadowy lobbyists, or of acting contrary to the best interests of the United States is the kind of naked appeal to bigotry and prejudice that would be familiar in the politics of the pre-Civil Rights Era South. This use of anti-Jewish incitement as a political tool is a sickening new development in American political discourse, and we have heard too much of it lately--some coming, ominously, from our own White House and its representatives. Let's not mince words: Murmuring about "money" and "lobbying" and "foreign interests" who seek to drag America into war is a direct attempt to play the dual-loyalty card. It's the kind of dark, nasty stuff we might expect to hear at a white power rally, not from the president of the United States--and it's gotten so blatant that even many of us who are generally sympathetic to the administration, and even this deal, have been shaken by it. It's Holocaust Remembrance Day, hm? How's that Atrocities Prevention Board doing? Ben Carson Said . . . What? One of the great ironies this cycle is that I wrote the first piece about Ben Carson's relationship with Mannatech and promptly got painted as a Carson-hater. There's a ton to admire about the man. He's got the most inspiring life story of any candidate in the field, his heart is in the right place, and at times the media has really blown up minor controversies into major issues. When I inquired about Carson's speeches and appearances for Mannatech in late 2014, I was told I would not be speaking to Dr. Carson; I was only permitted to speak to his business manager, Armstrong Williams. From our conversation, it was clear Williams had no idea about any of Mannatech's controversies, or then-Texas attorney general Greg Abbott's suing the company for what the state called "a particularly egregious case of false advertising." (The company settled with the state out of court, agreeing to pay $4 million in restitution.) It's reasonable to look at the Mannatech story and conclude that while Carson could have and should have used better judgment, he was misled by a troubled company that wanted to exploit the neurosurgeon's sterling reputation and a friend and business manager that should have known better and didn't give clear answers when needed. But don't take it from me that Williams isn't a straight shooter, or the kind of guy you want handling these sorts of matters. Take it from . . . Ben Carson. Ben Carson said his top outside adviser and longtime friend Armstrong Williams is dishonest -- a failing he also attributed to political opponents and the media that has covered his campaign. "Armstrong is not necessarily the epitome of truth," Mr. Carson said during a breakfast with reporters hosted by Bloomberg. "He doesn't speak all things that are correct. He often speaks without thinking. He has no official capacity in the campaign whatsoever. His influence has been vastly overrated." Of negative news coverage, he said, "That level of dishonesty in the press should be something that concerns all of you guys." Mr. Carson, who led public opinion polls in early November before his campaign sank amid internal dysfunction and questions about the accuracy of his vaunted biography and his command of foreign policy, said the turmoil in his political team doesn't disqualify him from running the federal government. Rick Scott, Talking Up 1 Million New Jobs in Five Years The site Florida Politics offers a pretty nice write-up of yesterday's event at the Heritage Foundation: Scott then served red meat about the federal government: "why do they think they know better than we do? They think one size fits all," Scott said, citing the differences between the states, and the ultimate competition for jobs and resources. Scott pivoted the discussion to The Villages; Geraghty referred to it as "God's waiting room," using an old joke, and Scott coughed out a quick "yep," in what was probably the most spontaneous Scott moment in some time. Soon enough, a question from Geraghty: was Florida's boom a consequence of the nation's boom in job creation? "We've beaten the national numbers for 50 straight months," Scott said, adding that "most of my problems are from the federal government." Ultimately, diversifying the economy is a key to the Scott strategy. Dredging projects, such as the one in Miami that is expected to generate 33,000 jobs, "play to our strengths." I also asked him a lighthearted question about this: 
It tells you everything you need to know about Washington, D.C. that it needs help in snow removal . . . from Florida. ADDENDA: Our Ian Tuttle discovers: "In January 2015, [Current Trump spokeswoman] Katrina Pierson introduced [Ted Cruz] at a tea-party event in South Carolina, and in March she told Megyn Kelly that Cruz was 'a walking testament to immigrants who have fled their countries to seek freedom and achieved the American dream.'" She also wrote on Facebook that "repeating your wishes as facts isn't going to make them so. Ted Cruz is a natural citizen by BIRTH and is eligible to be president," adding: "For those constantly citing otherwise is plain whiney and the most unintelligent way to prop up your choice. So, your candidate is just going to have to bring it in the debates." As you may have heard, her boss is skipping tonight's debate. Earlier this month, she told CNN, "There's a ton of voters who are a little uncomfortable voting for someone outside of the country."  | 
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