It does make sense at some level

I remember a story (I think it was well-publicized) that there was a church that was planning on having a sermon about the biblical standpoint concerning the homosexual lifestyle and the impact that standpoint had on the entire topic of gay marriage. Well, there was a group of activists that got wind of the sermon and planned a protest outside of the church on the morning of the message. In a good fit of wisdom the church decided to meet the protesters with refreshments and the like outside of the church building where the protests were taking place.

Well, it turns out that their reaction to the protesters angered some of their Christian brothers and sisters to the point that there was no small amount of backlash against them. The pastor of the church that was being protested said that he thought that he was probably doing things just about right as both of the extreme sides of the issue were angry with him. I think he was right.

Our President is heading to the Middle East in the next couple of days and I see the same dynamic happening. He is scheduled to give a speech in Egypt that is rankling the "fundamentalist" Muslims in the area. He has also signaled some sort of intention (if you can say it that strongly) that he would be upping the pressure on Israel to abandon the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. This has caused a great deal of concern in Israel and especially Netanyahu's coalition government which depends on the support of Israel's right-wing elements.

Can I be so bold as to say that I think that President Obama is striking the right tone as he heads over there? I am sure the temptation to capitulate to one side or the other is strong, but he does not seem to be doing that. In fact, he has stated that to do that would not be in the best interest of Israel, the Palestinians, the region itself, or the United States.

We'll see how it all turns out but, I dare say, he may be walking the right path.