Obama Distances Self From Book Critical of Israeli Lobby

You cannot run for President, representing either party, without swearing allegiance to the state of Israel. There is no Debate. The grip on Washington by the pro-Israel lobby, along with the neocons, is total. Jimmy Carter came out and dared to accuse Israel of practicing apartheid. He was denounced as an anti-semite:

Like many in Washington, Barack Obama is running as fast as he can from the authors of a controversial new book on U.S.-Israeli politics. And in doing so, he's taking a distinctly different path than one of his highest-profile supporters in the foreign policy establishment, Zbigniew Brzezinski.

Total obedience to the party line is a requirement, or beware:

The book argues that a highly influential assortment of pro-Israeli politicians, journalists and academics have succeeded in pushing U.S. policy in the Middle East in directions that do not necessarily serve America's best interests. And, like an article by the authors that appeared last year, the book has caused a considerable stir - critics have accused the authors of anti-Semitism, admirers have praised them for needed candor, and several institutions and organizations have turned down or canceled appearances by the authors, including the Graduate Center at the City University of New York and, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The Obama campaign says its ad probably appeared on the book's Amazon page simply because the campaign paid for its Web site to be mentioned on searches that included the word "politics," among other phrases, part of a publicity strategy being used by many 2008 candidates. Though the ad's link to the book was clearly unintentional, the campaign may be sensitive to any appearance of an anti-Israel tilt given that Obama had already met with a skeptical response among some Jewish voters this year.