What Makes a Prez 'Good for Israel'?

The next US president must build an America strong enough to sway the Middle East, but needn't be doggedly pro-Israel, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times. And while Barack Obama is dogged by questions of whether he's “good for Israel,” Friedman notes, none other than "Israel-friendly" George W. Bush has spoken out in favor of Palestinian statehood.

“As an American Jew, I don’t vote for president on the basis of who will be the strongest supporter of Israel. I vote for who will make America strongest,” Friedman writes. Further, regardless of who the next president is, he or she won’t put all the country’s eggs in Israel’s basket. Republican or Democrat, “America is now committed to a two state solution.” (More Arab Israeli conflict stories.)