Netanyahu says U.S., Israeli fates tied together in fight against Iran
Inside, some Democrats were visibly miffed at Mr. Netanyahu’s description of the Obama administration’s negotiations. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi occasionally threw out her hands in apparent disagreement and kept a running commentary with her lieutenant, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, who sat next to her studiously jotting down notes on the prime minister’s speech.
Aware of the controversy over his appearance, Mr. Netanyahu began with an apology, saying he hadn’t intended to foster political divisions.
“I know that my speech has been the subject of much controversy,” he said. “I deeply regret that some perceive my being here as political. That was never my intention.”
Mr. Netanyahu played to the crowd, waving to the viewing galleries as he entered — and was rewarded with loud cheers, whistles, and even whoops. He greeted lawmakers as old friends, joking with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who is recovering from an exercise accident.
Some who’d said they wouldn’t attend did end up coming anyway, including Rep. Charles Rangel, a senior New York Democrat who sat prominently near the front of the chamber behind one of the leader’s tables.
Even some former members came back for the speech, including Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who sat with his former Democratic colleagues, Rep. Michele Bachmann, who stood in the back of the chamber right next to the door where the prime minister entered, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Sen. Joe Lieberman, who sat near each other in the public galleries.
But Mr. Obama signaled he wouldn’t be watching. The White House announced the president would be on a secure video chat with European leaders trying to negotiate a solution to the rebellion in Ukraine.
Vice President Joseph R. Biden, who as president of the Senate usually presides over such speeches along with Mr. Boehner, scheduled a trip to Central America to coincide with Mr. Netanyahu’s speech, so he, too, was absent.
Mr. Rangel, a Democrat who had threatened to boycott but changed his mind, said he’d hoped if enough Democrats resisted, Mr. Boehner would have had to cancel the speech. But he told CNN that when that didn’t happen, “the damage has already been done” and friends and constituents urged him to rethink and attend.
via NorthEast Calling http://ift.tt/1DGjgDj
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