No Biden, NOBama.

Last April I wrote a column for the University of Kansas' newspaper, the University Daily Kansan, on the oddity of a blurb on Israel nestled neatly within Barack Obama's now-famous speech in Philadelphia on race. I pondered at the time to what extent Mr. Obama was willing to capitulate to the status quo concerning the occupation of Palestine. I had hoped beyond hope (and against reason) that perhaps Obama's continual gestures to the Israel Lobby would be a tactic that downplays the issue long enough to get him into office, and once there, perhaps make some real headway.

Having read Ali Abuminah's article at The Electronic Intifada.com on March 4th, I had hoped that perhaps the man with "historically close relations to Palestinian-Americans" would not lose sight of his roots.

Now, with the absence of a speech by Jimmy Carter at the DNC in Denver last week and the very real presence of a staunch Zionist as a running mate, I see that Mr. Obama has done what I knew he would all along: cave.

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Obama has sealed the deal by selecting the pro-war Senator Joseph Biden. For anyone serious about a just peace in the Israel/ Palestine conflict in the next four years, it is now officially time to start looking somewhere other than Barack Obama.

-aVFP